There's So Much More to Find
by Vedge
Summary: After Finn breaks up with Rachel, Jesse St. James transfers to McKinley from a successful California show choir. While being accepted by the rest of New Directions, he finds himself receiving the cold shoulder from the stunning young ingenue.
1. Chapter 1

There's So Much More to Find

Starts in the beginning of Hell-O, after that its AU. After Finn breaks up with Rachel, a student by the name of Jesse St. James transfers to McKinley from a successful California high school show choir. While being accepted by the rest of New Directions, he finds himself receiving the cold shoulder from the stunning young ingenue.

**Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, I wouldn't have to write St. Berry. It would be law. Jussayin.**

Chapter 1

Rachel thundered away from Finn, her eyes spilling over with the tears caused yet again by the boy she so desperately wants but keeps being disappointed by. She swore to herself that she would not feel the heartache of rejection from Finn Hudson again, but the crooked smile and intuitive kindness he possessed had once again captured her before abandoning him. So here she was, in the same spot for the God-knows-how-many-times-this-year position of broken by Finn.

As she wandered through the halls on her way to her next class, she dodged past a slushiee wielding football player and felt bad for a moment after she heard the _slosh_ and shriek emitting from an obviously scarred and slushied Kurt Hummel, and darted into the restroom. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she was blissfully alone in there, no Cheerios to kick her while she was down.

Setting her books on the sink, she stared at herself in the mirror, her eyeliner now trailing down her face in the tear tracks still falling. Her eyes, normally big brown orbs of life were bloodshot and dull, a reflection of the turmoil raging in her.

_I'm not going to let him see me like this _she thought to herself_ Pull yourself together Berry_. _Yes it was Finn Hudson who did this, yes I probibly went overboard with the calanders, but I will not allow him to see me in any state of vulnerability again._

Wiping her eyes, she took a deep breath and stared hard at herself in the mirror. She was tired of this, this constant Finn-ache in her soul that never let up. Gathering up her books, she glanced one more time at the mirror. She hated to feel this way. All she wanted was to go back to the confident Rachel Berry, who had dreams so bright that they could power that cow town she was stuck in for years. This sad and distraught Rachel however was not wanted or liked.

The thought of life before Finn, a simple, uncomplicated ambition-drien existance was now lost under the heartache of rejection. The tears began to flow again, and Rachel Berry, the stunning young ingenue decided that these were the last tears she would shed over a boy. From this point on, she was defaulting back to her old mindset. Nobody (and certainly no boy) was going to rain on Rachel Berry's Parade.

Jesse St. James was bitter.

He did not want to move to Ohio. He did not want to leave the sun and shine of California. He did not want to leave the 25 minute drive to the beach, the year round flip flop weather, the knowledge that simply walking down Hollywood Boulevard, he could be "found" for the start of his dreams.

So finding out that his parents were uprooting him to the middle of nowhere, America, was semi-traumatic. Not to mention Earth-shatteringly-devestating to his career. Honestly. What agent lives in Cowtown Ohio?

As he pulled into McKinley High School's parking lot, he sighed. Who was he going to be here? It took years to build up a good reputation, and he was already somebody at his old school. No, correction: He was_ the_ somebody at his old school. He had the looks, he had the money, and most importantly, he had the voice.

Jesse St. James was an above average in every single way person. People knew him. More importantly, they feared him. Nobody ever messed with Jesse St. James, and it was an unwritten rule that he had no rules.

But _here_? Now he had to begin all over again.

He parked, and considered the outside of the school. Looked normal he supposed. Kind of boring, if he was honest. Not one palm tree or actual pair of designer sunglasses anywhere. In California, culture oozed like asbestos. You literally could not get away from it. In Ohio however, it seemed the music of choice was Eighties hair metal, and the political leaning was so far conservative that it was falling over. But still, Jesse wasn't discouraged. He could easily take over this school. He could get his status back. Just because he was in the middle of nowhere didn't mean that he wasn't still him. You can take the boy out of Los Angeles, but you can't take the Los Angeles attitude out of the boy.

_This isn't all bad_ he mused. _New school, new challenge_

Same Jesse St. James.

A/N: Thanks for reading! This idea has been floating around in my head for awhile, and I am a big fan of seeing which ways the characters we love can turn out if taken down roads that are seperate from the canon. I know this chapter was short, but trust me, the next few will assuredly NOT be. I'm trying to improve my writing, so if you have any feedback please let me know with a review. If I'm messing something up, I can't fix it unless it is pointed out to me, and if something isn't working I don't want to keep to something that people hate reading, so please let me know what you think! Thanks


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: Whoa! 117 hits? Seriously? This is so amazing you guys, thank you so much! To the people who dropped their thoughts in the review box, I can't tell you how great that made me feel. I loved reading all the responses and hope that you enjoy this next chapter. To everyone who StoryAlerted and everything else, I owe you all a plate of cookies. Please go forth and read chapter 2, and let me know what you think!

Mr. Schuester walked past the guidance office, glancing in and not seeing Emma behind her desk. Disappointed, he continued his trek through to the administration offices where he had been summoned by Principal Figgins regarding God knows what now. He was hoping the it was not another Sue Sylvester bitch fit. He had enough drama of his own going on right now with Terri/Non-baby/Regionals planning. On his list of more crap to handle, Sue's vendetta against him and New Directions was one he wanted no part of right now. But, seeing as how that was the last thing he needed, it would most likely be what was happening.

Rapping softly on the door, Figgins waved him in and continued the animated conversation he was having with an unfamiliar teen in the chair across from him. Will walked in and hesitated before Figgins again gestured at him to sit down.

"-and after we won the Sectionals event for the West Coast division, my parents informed me about the move and now here I am." The teen finished speaking, and finally took in that there was another person in audience with him and the Principal. Looking questioningly at Will, he focused his attention back to Figgins who was finally fully acknowledging the confused teacher.

"Schue, this is Jesse-"

"St. James, pleasure to meet you" the young man finished, sticking his hand out to Mr. Schuester. Taking it and reciprocating the introduction, Schue looked back to Figgins, still unaware of why he was summoned.

"Jesse just transferred here from Los Angeles, where his glee club just won the Western Conference sectionals competition," Figgins continued, obviously excited about the information "His parents moved out here for work, and Jesse came with them, bringing his experience with show choir with him to McKinley High!"

The pieces began falling into place, and Will reappraised the young man beside him. Looking like he was already twenty, this teenager was unique, Will could instantly sense that about him.

Looking Jesse St. James over, Schue was able to quickly take in one thing: This kid was confident. From the way he held out his hand and introduced himself over the principal to the way he was appraising Will as Will appraised him, Jesse St. James was obviously someone who had grown into a matured state of existence.

"Well Jesse," Will began, figuring he had nothing to lose by adding another voice to the group "You're welcome to audition for a spot during our meeting later this afternoon or you can sit in on our rehearsal today and perform tomorrow if you need time to prepare."

"I would like to get a feel of the group in order to choose a song that would not isolate myself creatively," came the prompt reply, enunciating on and reenforcing Wills initial opinion of him "I'll audition tomorrow afternoon."

"Excellent!" Figgins cried, clearly pleased with his efforts on Wills behalf "This is an exciting opportunity for Mr. St. James and New Directions"

Will stood, ready to escape the over-enthused principal and self-confident candidate. "Sounds great" he said, smiling at Figgins and nodding at Jesse St. James, "The choir room is right down this hall, the door will be open. Practice starts at 3:30 today"

Jesse nodded back, mentally going through his audition pieces. He watched as the young teacher scurried out of the room, and hastily thanked Principal Figgins and left the office as well.

Walking through the unfamiliar halls, Jesse continued mulling over his options for the audition. Well, _"audition"_ he smirked to himself, there'ss_ no way I'm not going to get into the glee club of some rinky dink middle-America high school when I was the star of the mostcompetitivee show choir west of the Mississippi_.

Turning the corner still lost in thought, he witnessed a mammothly large teen wearing a football jersey clutching onto a cup that was filled with something that looked like purple mush walking purposefully towards a girl obviously not paying attention to her surroundings. Like when seeing a car crash, Jesse stood transfixed as the girl shut her locker and turned faced the direction he was standing only to have the mush tossed right in her face.

Right in her face.

Jesse was no fashionista, but he did care about how he presented himself to the world. He wanted to look nice and put together at all times. A well kept appearance can change a persons view of you, and he was a California boy. The way you looked _was_ the way people viewed you in Los Angeles. So to him, the idea that someone would throw a frozen calorie bomb in another persons face was barbaric.

The girl stood, sputtering and stunned, as the gorilla guffawed and continued down the hall, slapping a hi-five to another of his kind passing by. Jesse continued to stare at her, her shoulders slumped and sporting a defeated look. None of the students milling around the hall approached her, many actually laughed as they spotted her and continued on past her, acting as if this wasn't something truly mean, even by standards lower than that of Jesse St. James.

She took a hand to her face and wiped off the chunks of slushy still there, and went to her locker to begin rummaging around inside. Finally shaking the shock off his face, he found himself approaching the girl before he knew what he was doing.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked tentatively, feeling genuine concern for this girl. She whirled around, bits of ice flying off her previously spotless blue shirt and short black skirt.

"Don't I look wonderful?" she asked viciously, her eyes narrowed and sarcasm dripping faster than the corn syrup from her hair "Doesn't it look like I am okay?"

Jesse's eyes widened in surprise of the hostility, and he found himself backing up a step from her unconsciously.

"I, uh-"

"Don't bother, you apparently are having as many issues forming sentences as I am getting through a day in this school without being emotionally and now physically assaulted" she spat, slamming her locker shut and storming off down the hall from which he had just come, a change of clothes and small bag clutched in her hands.

Once again, Jesse stood stunned by the actions surrounding this girl, who he could not help but noticing (under all of the Red #2 and Blue #1 dye of the slushy) was kind of cute. Shaking his head of these unnecessary thoughts as a bell rang signaling the start of the next period, he set back out on pace to his class, wondering if this school was really going to be an archetypal horror story of an institution.

He hoped not, but as any good celebrity autobiography will tell you, it usually is.

Rachel found herself in the bathroom for the second time that day, this time with slushy dripping down her face mingling with the tears. As she wiped the chilly concoction away from her face and dipped down to the sink to rinse out her hair, she let her thoughts wander back to the boy who had approached her. Dressed like someone who had just hopped off a plane from some sun-heavy climate, he had the unique honor of being the first person to approach her after a McKinley Facial (as they are so lovingly referred to by the perpetrators) and ask if she was okay. Not Finn, not Puck, certainly not Kurt or Mercedes, but some boy she did not know.

But she didn't respond graciously at all, the fact that she saw Finn standing down the hall frowning at the slusher without saying ANYTHING about it enraged and reopened the fresh heartache in her. So, in turn, she lashed out at the stranger and misplaced the decency she had always tried so hard to keep constant in a school of cruel. The more she stayed here, the more she felt her determination to not sink to their level slip.

She sighed and began to comb her damp hair out and reapply her makeup. Her fresh clothes were very un-Rachel Berry-like (a pair of blue jeans and a simple black t-shirt), and she felt off as she considered her appearance for the second time that day.

_Positive thinking!_ she mentally scolded at her reflection, willing her expression to change back to the bright eyed starlet she remembered. _Its just some boy you don't know, not like its someone who matters, not like its Fi-_

She stopped her train of thought, determined again to not feel another pang from that rejection.

_When I walk out of this bathroom, I will be Rachel Berry again, not pod-Rachel. So what if I have to resort to diva-like behavior to do so. Celine Dion didn't become Celine Dion by crying in a bathroom._

She quickly began gathering her slushied clothes and makeup bag, glanced over her reflection one more time, and put on a showface.

_Ain't nothing gonna break my stride..._

Jesse made his way out of his class and followed the herd of students rumbling towards the exits. The school day done, he was exhausted. It seemed that every teacher in every class wanted to hear his abridged life story before he took his seat and class could actually begin. Mid-year transfers were apparently a big thing around here, and even though Jesse St. James adored the spotlight as much as it adored him, he had no interest in being in front of an audience that couldn't have looked more uninterested if they were trying.

He finally freed himself from the throng of people and got a deep breath of fresh air when he stepped into the parking lot. He walked to his car and dropped his backpack into the trunk, and headed back into the school to sit in on the glee club rehearsal.

The hallway was empty now, with Jesse's footsteps being the only noise as he continued looking for the open door of the choir room Mr. Schuester told him about.

He began to hear the faint tinkling of a poppy song from a room around the corner. Quickening his pace, he turned it and saw a door cracked open and a group of students belting out the gang vocals to a rather subtly titled All-American Rejects track. Remembering the annoyance of being interrupted in the middle of totally owning a song, he lingered outside silently, watching and feeling impressed at the group, in particular a short dark haired girl who was leading the song.

As they finished with a gusto, he slipped in and stood in the inside doorframe still silently watching as she pointedly sang the last notes at a visibly uncomfortable guy who was the only one in his original seat after the gang vocalized assault. Mr. Schuester began to say something but the new addition to his choir room caught his eye. Waving him over as the others went back to the seats, he began to whisper to Jesse.

"I'm glad you made it," he glanced nervously at the group, who had noticed the female lead was glowering dangerously at the uncomfortable guy in the corner and was now apparently anticipating some sort of Lord of the Rings Style battle. Jesse was pretty sure he even heard the boy in the wheelchair say something about "$5 on her"

"-you have good timing, I'm pretty sure you'll work perfectly"

_Wait, what? _Jesse thought, refocusing again on the new teacher. Will ignored him and addressed the group.

"Alright guys listen up. We have a new student with us today who is going to be auditioning tomorrow. New Directions meet Jesse St. James."

Twelve sets of eyes rested on Jesse, and of those twelve, he could only find himself staring at one set in particular. That of a certain dark haired and previously slushy covered girl, who apparently was as stunned to see Jesse here as he was to see her.

As Schue went through the faces, Jesse heard him talking but was only fully aware of what he was saying when he came to the last of the McKinley kids

"and that is the other Co-Captain Rachel Berry."

_Rachel Berry_ Jesse repeated in his mind _Has a nice ring to it. _

**Please Review! 3**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**A/N: Man, you all have no idea how wild it is to me that people are reading this and actually liking it. This is my first try at writing fiction, and the fact that I'm not getting bashed is so rad. I really can't explain how stupidly large my smile gets when I read your reviews or see an alert. Seriously, mad love. I'm working on getting my formatting worked out, so don't hate me if its still messed up. I'm anal about line breaks and section separation, so let me assure you I'm trying to get it fixed. Enough of me now, please go and read and review! **

xxx

Rachel Berry made eye contact with the recently properly introduced unknown boy, who apparently was named Jesse St. James, and felt her face redden a bit as recognition dawned over him as well.

_Of course he would be here_ she thought viciously_ of course the one person I unwarrantably verbally abuse in my high school is going to be trying out. _

Mr. Schue continued on about Jesse being a part of the well known show choir at his former high school in California, how he wanted to audition for glee tomorrow, and how he would be sitting in on todays session to get a feel for the group. Rachel rolled her eyes as Mr. Schue babbled on and on, and instead focused on getting her stare in just the right spot so that it would look like she was aptly paying attention to the teacher, while in actuality she was studying Jesse St. James in her peripherals.

He was dressed nicely, as she had noticed earlier, wearing a look that she recognized all too well as that of a self-assured (and borderline cocky as all hell) attitude. He had frozen for a minute when their eyes met, but just as quickly as the blush had reddedend her cheeks, his eyes were again on Mr. Schuester and over some of the other glee kids in the room.

She heard Kurt whispering to Mercedes, and caught a few words that sounded suspiciously like "he's total would" and an affirming "Mhm" from Mercedes. Rachel inwardly groaned. Those two were as bad as Puck sometimes. Speaking of the mohawked jock, she shifted slightly to see him staring at Quinn again, as she was busy staring at Jesse as well, the look on her face similar to the one Rachel imagined Kurt to be wearing at that exact second as well. She was hoping the arrival of this St. James character was not going to cause any more love-triangles or emotional turmoil on the group. After Babygate (which was totally justifiable considering how Finn was preparing to spend the rest of his life caring for the child of another father) she honestly did not think that if there was another drama like that Glee would be able to recover. She was doing her part to prevent it, but going into full-diva mode was not the way that others handled things.

"...so any questions before we begin? No? Okay... Rachel?" Mr. Schue's closing statement kicked Rachel out of her zoning and back into reality.

"Yes Mr. Schuester?"

"Would you mind leading warm-ups today? And then after that I think we should run through Hello Goodbye,"

"Of course Mr. Schuester" she replied, bounding up out of her seat, determinedly _not_ looking at the new face following Mr. Schue into his office, discussing the numbers he had been a part of in California. _Focus Berry. Channel Celine. _

"Alright guys, from the top" the diva said, commandingly taking the helm of the group, unaware of the set of eyes behind her becoming more and more intrigued with her.

xxx

After the rehearsal had ended, Jesse wasn't so sure he wanted to be a part of this group. To say that they were volatile would be a serious contender for understatement of the year. In the three times they ran through an adequate enough version of a Beatles classic, the tall bumbling football player managed to make an awkward routine even awkwarder by stiffening up in what seemed to be fear every time Rachel Berry danced around him. The pregnant girl in the back looked to Jesse like she was about to punch the kid out right there, and the mowhawked guy who followed her around faithfully had been sending Jesse looks throughout the entire rehearsal, apparently as aware of the looks his lady was giving Jesse as Jesse was. He sighed.

As the group finally dissipated one by one, Jesse was left with the awkwardly tall guy, Mr. Schuester, and Rachel Berry, discussing what worked in the number (mainly Rachel, in Jesse's opinion), what didn't (the "trouble some people were having with the dance number"), and how to better address them. Jesse sat and waited as they finished, and Rachel shot out of the room as if on fire, throwing an almost missable second glance at Jesse before she cleared the door. Jesse must have had his thoughts all over his face, because the Frankenteen approached him with a knowing smile.

"So it's Jesse right?" he asked, sticking his hand out. "I'm Finn Hudson, co-captain."

"Nice to meet you Finn," Jesse took his hand and returned the gesture.

"How did you offend Rachel?" Jesse stopped in his tracks, giving Finn a bizarre look "She refused to talk to you. Then she stormed out and back-glanced dramatically. Something happened that she is unhappy with you about"

Jesse was floored. His initial instincts about the dumb jock were turning out to not be accurate. This guy was good.

"I asked her if she was okay. This was directly after a frozen beverage was thrown in her face."

"Ah." Finn said, recognition dawning. "She doesn't like to be spoken to while shes covered in slushie. It's one of those personality quirks she has"

Jesse gave him an incredulous look "You mean this isn't the first time its happened?"

"Nah man. Rachel used to get slushied every day. Then we sort were dating for like a week, and it stopped, but then..." the tall teen trailed off, giving Jesse some key information about the mystery girl.

She was single.

As they said goodbye to Mr. Schue, Jesse and Finn continued to walk down the hall, still talking.

"So it isn't normally that intense in rehearsal?" Jesse asked, uncertain if he wanted negative or positive confirmation on that question.

"Nah man. The past week has been kind of stressful on everyone. Even winning sectionals hasn't really helped," Finn explained "but hopefully once she gets over her diva fit we'll be back to normal. Normal for us at least"

Jesse laughed. Maybe this Finn Hudson could be useful.

"What kind of songs does your club usually do?" Jesse started, trying to subtly get a taste for the teams preferred performance numbers. He noted that it took Finn a minute to get back to him _ A real team captain would know that instantly _

"Alot of more unknown stuff" he stated, forehead still creased in apparent deep thought. "Mr. Schue is kind of big on Nineties rap" (Jesse almost threw up as Finn said this, horrified at the thought of a serious show choir rap routine) "and of course classic rock. We do a lot of classic rock"

_In Ohio apparently thats all they know how to play _Jesse thought, inwardly grimacing at the suggestions given to him

"How does Schuester feel about more contemporary rock?" he asked, hoping that Finn would be able to answer it without his head exploding from too much thought.

"He's actually pretty open to whatever. We've done stuff from, like, Broadway and stuff, and the next week done a song by the first American Idol winner"

Jesse nodded, choosing to ignore the slight to the Great White Way by being mentioned in the same breath as American Idol, and began to tick through his iTunes library mentally. Having reached the doors to the school, Finn turned to face him.

"Well dude it was nice to meet you. I hope your audition goes well tomorrow" he stuck his hand out once again, and Jesse shook it.

"It was nice to meet you too. Thanks for the info about the club. I appreciate it."

Finn headed off towards where Jesse presumed was the football field, and he himself passed through the double doors and into the parking lot, his moving guilt-present Range Rover his new destination. Sliding into the black vehicle, he threw his backpack in the back seat and began to flick through the tracks on the stereo. Finally finding the one he wanted, he started the ignition and began to drive, trademark smirk plastered into place as he realized he had the perfect tune for this audition. He officially could not wait to assert his position into that club, and the strong opening song he had will only make that easier.

xxx

Jesse walked to the middle of the stage the next day, the New Directions team sitting in the rows in front of him. He was not nervous. He wasn't.

Except for that foreign feeling he got whenever he saw Rachel Berry, like the adrenaline rush right before he bounded onstage to perform but this time for one specific person in mind to impress. He shook his head slightly to clear away these pesky thoughts. Shes just some diva. He needed to focus.

"Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to prove what I can bring to New Directions," Jesse began, enunciating every word. "Instead of going the conventional Broadway route, I have chosen to follow the advice of one of your own, and pick a song relatively unknown, but an excellent fit to showcase my abilities. The song is done by Thrice, and is titled _In Exile_"

He glanced behind him at the band, who he had found in his run through earlier were surprisingly very talented for a high school ensemble. He was glad to find that they were familiar with the song he had chosen, considering how it was not widely popular to people who were used to busting out everything but newer alternative music. He caught a break with them, and he knew it.

Nodding at them, they began the intro to the song. The slow meandering guitar was quickly joined by the other, and finally the bass and drums began pounding out the rhythm. Jesse licked his lips and began to sing.

_I am in exile, a sojourner_

_A citizen of some other place_

_All I've seen is just a glimmer in a shadowy mirror_

_But I know, one day well see face to face_

_I am a nomad, a wanderer_

_I have nowhere to lay my head down_

_There's no point in putting roots too deep when I'm moving on_

_Not settling for this unsettling town_

Jesse could have laughed if he wasn't belting out the post-hardcore version of a power ballad. This song was what he had listened to nonstop since his flight from L.A. had landed. He felt like he _was_ in exile here in Ohio. All his pent up anger, all his unrevealed inner turmoil that his parents had caused by uprooting him in the middle of his school year, killing his shots for another championship in the western conference, all came spilling out into his performance. It was like his high. He escaped doing this.

_My heart is filled with songs of forever_

_The city that endures when all is made new_

_I know I don't belong here, I'll never_

_Call this place my home, I'm just passing through_

_I am a pilgrim, a voyager_

_I wont rest until my lips touch the shore_

_Of the land that I've been longing for as long as I've lived_

_Where they'll be no pain or tears anymore_

_My heart is filled with songs of forever_

_The city that endures when all is made new_

_I know I don't belong here, I'll never_

_Call this place my home, I'm just passing through_

He knew he was sweating at this point. The final swelling of his voice, the strong clear calling of his higher notes being hit strained his talent, but he had won enough competitions to know when he was nailing a solo. And Jesse St. James was in the middle of nailing a solo.

_Ohhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhh_

_ohhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhh_

The last notes of the music finished before his voice did, the echoing of it filling the auditorium impressively. His breath finally exhaled in an exuberant aural display, he opened his eyes.

xxx

Rachel was floored. By someone other than herself, which made it all the more astonishing.

She had somewhat expected him to be impressive, his demeanor was certainly that of a miva, and Rachel Barbara Berry herself being a diva understood that you only obtained that level of self-assuredness once you've earned it. But his singing actually stunned her. Every note, every swell of the music was nothing but background noise to her, a distracting irritant from not hearing his voice _exclusively_.

She looked immediately at Mr. Schue who was sporting the mirror look of herself. As was everyone in the room. Except Jesse. He just looked pleased with himself.

She decided in that second she did not need to think about it, all she knew was that if she and Jesse St. James were put in the same song together, her shot at fleeing this cow town was just that much closer.

"I would like to call a vote" she said, her voice ringing loudly and clearly to her fellow clubbers, all in some variation of revered silence of the performance they just witnessed. "All in favor of admitting Jesse St. James into New Directions?"

Thirteen hands shot up simultaneously. If possible, Jesse's smirk got more pronounced.

Rachel looked pointedly at Mr. Schuester, who hadn't realized that his glee club had just unanimously agreed to something for the first time ever. He stood up and addressed the young man onstage.

"I guess the tribe has spoken. Welcome to New Directions Jesse."

The kids began to clap, and Jesse came down from the stage to join his new team. Shaking hands with Mr. Schuester and hugging the other members, Rachel stood off to the side, and approached him as the rest of the club made their way out, all jubilantly shouting about how Vocal Adrenaline wasn't going to know what hit them.

He looked at her with an air of suspicion, that she couldn't blame him for. She had been rather awful to him for no reason.

"I'm Rachel Berry" she said, sticking her hand out to his "I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

He took it a little bemusedly, and returned the professional introduction.

"I'm Jesse St. James, and now we have," he said, grinning genuinely at her instead of the smirk.

They both stood there for a moment in silence, not knowing what to say. Rachel finally broke it.

"I apologize for our initial meeting," she began, a little awkwardly, her professional demeanor not as present "It was completely rude and I apologize profusely." _Profusely? Really Berry? Oh dear God. _

He smiled. "No worries. I was hoping it wouldn't affect my nomination into the club. Anything less than unanimous might as well be a loss in my opinion." His eyes were a sparkling blue, and mischievous under the stray curl or two across his forehead from his performance. _Very cute stray curls, as a matter of fact._

"Excellent. I'm happy to put this behind us for a fresh start." driving any thoughts of curls (cute or otherwise) from her mind, she quickly moved into efficiency mode "Since you're now a member, I'll need to get your contact information and give you a copy of the rehearsal schedule. You'll also need to speak with Mr. Schuester about your range, considering how you can hit notes Finn is highly unlikely to without an assist from God, so you might be quickly moving into a few lead spots in some numbers. Sound okay?"

He smirked again at her mention of Finn's (lack of) abilities, and she took that as a non-verbal "okay" from him.

"Excellent. We practice again tomorrow at 3:30, and you'll need to see your counselor to get you switched into Mr. Schuesters music period which is the academic part to New Directions" She said this all very quickly, and stuck out her hand again to him. "Welcome to the team Jesse St. James."

"Thank you Rachel Berry." he returned, grasping her hand again. She let go quickly and began to walk away, a quick "see you tomorrow" thrown over her shoulder.

She didn't dare do a parting glance at himthis time, instead just focused on getting herself out of the April Rhodes Civic Pavilion as quickly as her feet would carry her. If she had, she would've seen the self-assured boy watching her go with a look that indicated a little more than just curiosity for the firecracker that was Rachel Berry.

xxx

**A/N 2: If any of you are interested, the song Jesse chose can be heard in it's original version by one of my favorite band's (Thrice) right here. ****.com/watch?v=RDrTkd1618Q**** Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter took forever for me to get out, but I'm pretty happy with how it finally did. Sorry for the wait, I can't express to you how awesome it feels knowing that people are actually excited to find out what happens next. That being said, here you go! Please let me know what you think!**

xxx

The sun was shining down in the spring Ohio skies above Jesse St. James as he strutted into McKinley High. Passing by Santana and Brittany holding court with a group of Cheerios who all watched him go by with wanton smiles, he winked at the lot of them and continued on his way through the double doors. Passing by Karofsky and Azimio he got respectful nods in his direction, and slapped a high five with Mike Chang as he was passing by him. This had been almost _too _easy.

After getting into glee (unanimously, he might add pointedly), the beginning of his takeover of McKinley High had gone exactly to plan. According to the rest of the club, New Directions were at the bottom of the social heap, with a few of their members being independently accepted outside the group. Jesse St. James was an exception. He would not have been able to take a slushie facial and remain a star, and so the first time a frozen bomb wielding assailant approached with Jesse in his sights, he quickly accessed the Stallone role he secretly adored and verbally berated the jock into confusion and retreat. In the middle of the hallway. During a passing period. In the animal kingdom, that would be called asserting dominance over his territory. Needless to say, that had staved off any further assault on him from the herd of athletes, and had given him a repatriate as someone not to be screwed with.

Glee itself was already his as well. The girls seemed infatuated with him (and who could blame them, really) and the leader of the guys had surprisingly taken to him. He and Finn got on well, beside the fact that Jesse really could not hold on to a real conversation with the freakishly tall teen for more then ten minutes without wanting to beat him with a broadway encyclopedia to see if that educated him on the world that spawned his club.

But all was good. He loved and was loved by McKinley high school. Jesse St. James was on his way back up.

The only problem was Rachel Berry.

The girl could belt out a song, that was not the issue. If he looked objectively, she was the one in the group who had the most potential (aside from himself of course) and she was certainly a hard worker. Borderline obsessive if he were to use plebeian terms. In thespian terms, she was just another normal, wildly ambitious hopeful. Lima Ohio was not the place to nurture that dream though, and it showed when she would admonish the others for various show choir offenses, and visibly let her frustration sneak onto her face.

The fact that she wouldn't even give him the time of day kind of drove him nuts. Sort of. A lot.

She fascinated him, that was undeniable. Someone with Jesse St. James' talent wanted to be around other people who had talent almost as much as his. And in Los Angeles, he had been literally surrounded with people like him. In Lima, there was only Rachel. He was intrigued by her, and knew so little.

But unlike the rest of the club (and the school at this point) she hadn't welcomed Jesse with open arms. After their brief reintroduction in the auditorium, she hadn't spoken to him. It was like she was purposefully avoiding any contact outside of group numbers, and that went for the whole group, not simply him. The rest of the club had explained that it was unnatural behavior for her, normally she was in everybody's business all the time. Starting the day Jesse had been a witness to her talent singing "Gives You Hell" and his interest had been piqued, she had withdrawn from her regular persona and become the pod-version of Rachel Berry which was the only one Jesse knew. He knew that they knew more but if he pushed then they would begin to get suspicious. Professional curiosity can only carry an investigation so far. So he devoted himself to studying her at any chance he could during rehearsal, in the only environment where the only view of her wasn't one of her scurrying away from him.

It was after one particularly trying rehearsal that she finally cracked, and ended up shouting at Finn, Mr. Schuester, Puck, and Jesse over the boys' vocal arrangements.

"Really Mr. Schuester, having the guys sing the verses and negating the women to chorus is not only borderline sexist, but aural abuse" She insisted, annoyed

"Rachel-" the exhausted sounding teacher said, trying to stem the flow. She barreled right through that and continued admonishing them

"Finn and Puck seem too busy trying to keep up with the choreography to stay in time, and every time Jesse opens his mouth he is singing over everyone else, and I for one-"

"I somewhat resent that" Jesse cut in, knowing his annoyance at being judged too talented was all over his face. He had never seen his talent turned into a negative and it bothered him

She turned her attention on him (_at least fighting with her gets her to look at me_ he couldn't help but thinking)

"We shouldn't even be having this discussion" Rachel spat towards Jesse "this song choice is awful. We might as well have a background that advertises iTunes top singles chart. We need classics Mr. Schuester" she let her eyes rest back on the now resigned looking instructor "Something the judges find more accessible. If not Broadway, then at least more classic rock. _California Gurls_? It reeks of classlessness"

_She has Schuester there_ Jesse thought. Katy Perry had captured his opinion on California girls perfectly in a mix of mindlessly enjoyable pop, but it was certainly not competition worthy.

_Fight with her genius. That'll get her attention _Jesse thought, watching the teacher, Rachel, and Finn continue to battle it out _The whole purpose is to get her to like me. Wait, what? I'm losing my mind_ he inwardly groaned. This girl was making him think like a teenage boy. He was Jesse St. James, not an easily manipulatable guy. _This is not good_

xxx

As she stopped talking for a millisecond to catch her breath, Rachel noticed what she thought was an interesting development in this particular battle. Puck had wandered off, ego bruised and pissy about being called out for his sub-par tone. Finn looked furious and stood like a petulant child. Mr. Schue was looking at her, but his eyes were blanker than her interest at any form of organized sports. Jesse however was gazing aptly at her, a look on his face that seemed almost supportive despite her tongue lashing a few moments ago.

The butterflies in her stomach briefly made an appearance and then were put back in their place as she refocused on Finn who was attempting to insult her.

"It doesn't matter that you think that the song is being sexist Rachel" he was saying, giving her as much attitude as she was giving him "We're doing this track. Get over it."

She felt the blood rush to her face. He was asking for a full on diva fit, mixed in with some personal rage. And she was just the scorned girl to give it to him.

"Mr. Schuester, if I may?" Jesse cut in, quickly stepping in between Finn and Rachel, the former of whom looked like she was about to explode from anger.

"I think Rachel has a point," he started, taking her aback "while California Gurls may be a crowd pleaser for a younger audience, the judges at Regionals are sure to be more conservative leaning than in California, and I'm positive that if anyone performed that even there, they wouldn't place."

"I appreciate your input Jesse, but I think it's important to stick to a song and perfect it rather than jumping around from track to track every week" Mr. Schue said, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, obviously exhausted. "We already have the choreography laid down for this one-"

"I'm sorry Mr. Schuester, but this number will lose us regionals. It's terrible." Jesse's words rang through the now silent choir room, the entire club now paying attention to the potentially epic confrontation now unfolding. The only person to defy Schue on setlists was Rachel, and that had almost ended with the club being disbanded.

Rachel herself hadn't even been that blunt, she had tried to soften the blow to him with an emotional appeal, but Jesse was just going for it. She had to say she was somewhat impressed.

Having an ally in glee was a foreign experience. Rachel knew she was difficult to get along with professionally, but that was because she was (almost) always right. And that same ally being Jesse St. James? She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she would certainly take the help. Mr. Schuester had a soft spot for Finn and she knew that he knew it. He had used it to his advantage before.

"Jesse it isn't your decision to pick the setlist" Mr. Schue said, now visibly agitated with the new member.

"No offense man but you just joined. You haven't earned the right to make any decisions yet" Finn added, sidling nearer to him, obviously utilizing his height to try to intimidate the two.

"Finn, _please_, you had to be coerced into the role of co-captain. Jesse's shown more interest in the first week of being here than you did in the first three months" Rachel said, tossing in her two cents. Finn gave her a withering look. She returned it in full, hands firmly on her hips, diva assault in full swing.

"No offense _man_, but your knowledge of Broadway is limited to whatever Hollywood adaptation is playing on television this weekend" Jesse said, stepping closer to Finn to block off Rachel.

"Guys! Thats it!" Mr. Schue yelled, throwing his hands up between the two boys and Rachel. "I will not have you fighting over this!" He pushed his way in between the two boys who were still glaring at each other, and Rachel who was standing a bit back, feeling somewhat frightened.

_They went from discussion to almost physical blows quickly_ she thought, chewing nervously on her bottom lip as Mr. Schuester forced the grudgingly accepting boys to shake hands and get over it _Finn has never seemed this volatile, and Jesse was unexpectedly enthusiastic in his defense of my position. What is going on with everyone?_

"I think we should do two numbers that are classic Broadway and contemporary. Like your Sectionals set" Jesse said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that now descended upon the choir room. The other glee kids were all still watching, but now seemingly disappointed that there was no more excitement.

"I'm not making any decisions today. Everyone needs to cool off." Mr. Schuester said, gathering up his notes and books from the piano and then turning to face them all again. "The assignment for this week is to find a song that isn't on any top selling charts and find a way to make it Regionals-worthy. Be it Broadway or not, it can't be well-known. Be prepared on Friday. Thats it for today." He stalked out of the room, evidently unhappy about the lack of positive reception his idea had gotten.

"Does he mean just no current chart songs, or is the ban all-encompassing, because if I can't sing any Whitney Houston, I might have to shave someones head" Kurt stated, looking somewhat disturbed as he pondered actually being banned from Whitney

"Shut _up_" Santana said, rolling her eyes at his dramatics. "California Gurls was the best number we've gotten and now its been cancelled" she looked accusingly at Rachel "Way to go mouth breather"

"I don't know about the chart business, but what I do know is that I'm glad we don't have to sing that white girl crap anymore" Mercedes said, walking with Kurt, Tina, and Artie to the door. She looked at Rachel and Jesse and smiled "You guys know whats up. Good job."

Santana rolled her eyes and followed them, Brittany walking behind her apparently unaware of what was going on considering how she kept asking why Mr. Schue wanted songs nobody liked. Puck and Quinn had been long gone by this point, and Mike and Matt were talking in low voices with Finn across the room from Jesse and Rachel.

"Lets get out of here" Jesse said suddenly, striding across the room to grab his and Rachel's book bags. Handing hers over, he slung his over his shoulder and started towards the door, pausing as she hurried to follow him, still somewhat confused as to what was going on.

"Hey Jesse!" Finn called out, leaving his fellow football players conversation and jogging up to him. Rachel hovered outside in the hall as Jesse whispered "One sec?" and she nodded, watching him slowly make his way back in the room.

As much as she strained, she couldn't make out what Finn was saying to Jesse. All she saw was how Jesse nodded at him and muttered something back. They nodded at each other and Jesse came back out and gestured to her. They began walking down the hall, silence settling between the two.

"Thank you for backing me up in there" she started, unwilling to allow awkwardness to dominate Rachel Berry. "It's not often I have a fellow Broadway lover to side with me on song choices"

He smiled at her, holding the doors open and following her towards the parking lot. "It isn't like its a bad song. Only ill-fitted for a competition of this level. I wanted to talk to you about that though, how would you feel about maybe working on something together? You obviously have good taste..." he stopped walking when they were about to step off the curb onto the pavement between the sidewalk and parking lot "where did you park?"

Rachel flushed with semi-embarrassment. She had yet to get her license, but usually her one of her dad's picked her up promptly after practice. Of course today would be the day they both had to attend a dinner for one of their work events. She was planning on hoofing it but didn't want to admit that to the new cute boy who seemed genuinely interested in talking to her.

_What the hell _she thought_ might as well look like a loser sooner rather than later_

"I actually don't have a car," she started, looking anywhere but him "my fathers usually pick me up but tonight..." she trailed off, fumbling with her cellphone to occupy her hands and gaze.

"Awesome, I'll give you a ride then. We can keep talking about the assignment" he flashed a smile at her and gestured towards the black Range Rover in the third row. Rachel returned the mega-watt grin with a shy one of her own and they made their way to the car, her thoughts racing as this mysterious boy kept surprising her more and more.

xxx

"This is me" Rachel said, pointing to the two story with the bright red mailbox sporting a bold "BERRY" on the side in gold letters. Jesse pulled into the drive and shut the car off, unlatching his seatbelt and turning to face Rachel completely. She sat with her hands folded, seemingly shy, looking anywhere but him. The drive had been mostly Jesse talking, but with Rachel piping up more and more as she got more comfortable with him. He swore he even saw a genuine smile for a moment.

"So you live here with your just your dads?" Jesse prompted "No brothers or sisters?"

"No, just us three" she returned, her gaze now on the house "they didn't want to have a big family, since they had both come from large ones. They had always wanted only one so that they could be completely committed and have no distractions"

"That's really an interesting take on it. Most people from large families want that, but their reasoning is totally understandable. I don't have any siblings either. I got so much talent that my parents decided having another would be too cruel to the younger one. I don't blame them" he said, smirking as she rolled her eyes at his showboating.

He leaned back in his seat and took her in. She was rather beautiful, in a completely fresh way. Here he was, used to blonde bitchy and boring. She was completely the opposite, and it fascinated him. She looked back at him from her seat. Her question caught him by surprise.

"Why are you being so persistent in talking to me Jesse?" she asked, clearly holding back was not one of her strong suits. "Most boys I know either ignore me or slushie me"

He was offended at being grouped in with those animals. But from what he had heard about her, she had a right to be suspicious. From what he had seen the first time they spoke, to what Finn had just mentioned to him before he left, Rachel was continually getting the short end of the stick when it came to relationships with the opposite sex. As much as he felt like a sentimental fool admitting it, he ached to be the variable in that pattern. He didn't know her but he wanted to.

"Your initial contact was off-putting," he began slowly. _Don't screw this up St. James_. "But when I walked into the first glee practice and saw you performing – not just singing but _performing_, I could recognize someone who is an artistic equal. And the fact that you love the Great White Way apparently as much as I do makes me want to befriend you even more." _Befriend? Befriend! First time ever that anyone has put themselves in the friend zone before the girl does. Fantastic._

"You didn't see you strutting around in there Rachel Berry. You actually made me like the All American Rejects. That was a previously unattainable feat."

She smiled at that, blushing slightly. He watched as she unclicked her seatbelt, gathered her things, and turned back to him.

"I'm glad that you transferred Jesse St. James," she opened the door and stepped out of the car, turning around to lean on the open window the keep talking "I think Hello 12 would be perfect for the assignment"

He nodded his agreement, secretly thrilled that she okayed the idea of them doing a duet together. Their voices would mesh, he just knew it.

"Thanks for the ride" she continued, unaware of the mental celebration that was going on in the tousle-haired boys mind at her agreement. "I'm glad we're getting to know each other. It's nice to have potential with someone again."

With that she urned briskly onto the walk leading to her porch steps. Waiting until she got the door open, Jesse started up his engine and back out of the drive. When she turned and waved at him, he felt his face break into another huge smile and returned the gesture. Her door now closed, he sped away, high on the feeling that he got usually after every competition. The fact that she had said she was down for doing a duet with him was only the smallest part of his joy. Her last words rang through his mind _It's nice to have potential with someone again _made his stomach flip in a completely un-Jesse St. James type flip. She was something else.

He pulled into his own driveway ten minutes later and let the engine die again. Grabbing his bag from the backseat, he made his way into his house and into his room. Flopping onto his bed, he grabbed his phone. Noticing a new text message from an unfamiliar number, he opened it and his grin threatened to split his face in half.

_Thanks again for the ride... You're mine and my heels' hero today. Have a good night. Rachel*_

Saving her number with an asterisk star next to her name, Jesse set his phone down and kicked his shoes off.

He loved McKinley high school.

xxx

**Review? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N: hi guys! Im sorry its been a few days since my last post, but this has been a hard chapter to write. The good news is that I've been making crazy headway on the exciting stuff that occurs later on. Woo! Thanks again for bothering with this, and please do me the ultimate favor of leaving me some words on what you thought. I love you all!

**Disclaimer: I borrowed a line from one of the episodes, because I think that some of the canon is necessary to have to enrich the storyline and make it seem like it could be a legit part of it. It's the line from Schue about a boy loving Rachel for exactly who she is. I'm using it strictly for entertainment purposes, not making any money off of it. Please RMurph and co, don't sue me. Im already broke from Fall semester classes. Kthanksbye. **

xxx

"_Listen man I'm sorry about that," Finn said, looking sheepish "Rachel and me...we don't...she isn't...I think I hurt her pretty bad, and that fight wasn't really about glee and it wasn't supposed to end up with me acting like a jackass to you. I'm going to make things up with her I swear, and I'm sorry you got pulled into it..."_

Jesse kept replaying that statement in his head over and over again. He was conflicted about Finn. On the one hand, he was an alright kind of guy. Seemed genuine about his caring for New Directions. But on the other, he was an ass who had somehow managed to completely alter Rachel's demeanor. And that enraged Jesse.

But why? He wasn't dating her. He barely knew her. It wasn't like she was beating down his door with her heart on her sleeve. On the contrary, she was a challenge to get to know. While she now spoke to him with consistency, she was _so_ private. Guarded. Jesse was loathe to admit that he couldn't ever move the conversation past the point of her talking about her dads and her favorite Broadway shows. Their schedules weren't helpful either. Jesse saw her for glee and that was it. His senior classes were on a different circuit than her sophomore ones so their contact outside the club was negligible.

It's as if some supernatural force was trying to clue Jesse in on it's intentions to not let this happen. But he was Jesse St. James. He made fate dammit.

So in a feat worthy of the attention Taylor Swift received for being interrupted by an inebriated Kanye West, Jesse bulldozed his way through the external hinderances that kept him from getting to know Rachel.

The day after he dropped her off, he made plans with her to begin rehearsing "Hello 12, Hello 13", which would be happening today after the glee meeting, which hopefully would lead to another opportunity for him to drive her home. Consistent presence meant consistent opportunities to find out more about her. He had it all figured out.

It wasn't like she was all he thought about now or anything. Really.

Despite the fact that he was a senior and she a sophomore, she was older for her age. She acted like she was already preparing for college (which she probably was, now that he thought about it) and had a determination that he saw in very few of his same aged peers. In the entire glee club, she was the one who seemed as invested as Mr. Schuester was, she was the one who sparked the rest of them into action with any means necessary. He admired that about her, that was for sure.

He couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she was though. Between the sweater vests and argyle knee socks, she had a style that was completely her own, and Jesse was impressed that a sophomore would have enough guts to wear exactly what they wanted to as opposed to what everyone else did.

This is what he was thinking about when Mr. Schuester began raising his voice to get the young mans attention during glee that day, and Jesse quickly had to shake all thoughts of Rachel's wardrobe from his mind.

"I'm sorry Mr. Schuester, what?"

"We were asking if you would be willing to try a solo with Rachel to have more options for regionals" Schuester said, obviously annoyed at having to repeat himself. Jesse mentally yelled _yes yes yes yes yes! _but outwardly shrugged his shoulder noncommittally and said "sure", as if he hadn't just been granted an early Christmas gift. He glanced sideways at Rachel as Schuester continued rambling about how important it was to have diversity in their repertoire, in case something went wrong so they wouldn't be stranded like last time. She was gazing at Mr. Schuester aptly, as any co-captain should, but her eyes weren't alive with attention. She apparently was as lost in thought as Jesse had just been. And he had a sinking feeling that it had to do with the person sitting a row behind him.

xxx

Try as she might, Rachel was in a funk.

Seeing Finn everyday was now even harder than it was the day he had decided to annihilate her heart. The new presence of Jesse St. James was a welcome distraction for the other glee clubbers from her less than enthusiastic participation in rehearsals, save from being even more critical of Finn than usual and finding the occasionally not-as-emotional-as-they-could-be parts of her solos and ripping them a vocal new one.

She wasn't impressing herself (she already KNEW she was that talented), but even Kurt's usually snarky remarks were tapering off. If heartbreak was what it took to shut them up then fine. She was accepting of that necessity. But she knew she wasn't okay. No matter how many mirror faceoffs she held, no matter how many WWCDs (What Would Celine Do) she doodled, she still hurt when he came into view, or when she brushed up against him in a song. She could play tough all she wanted, but the fact of the matter is that she loved someone who didn't love her back. And that is enough to make even Rachel Berry blue.

It was inadvertently affecting Jesse it seemed though, as the boy was making such an effort that she wasn't reciprocating as enthusiastically as she might have before the Finnache.

The bell rang, shaking her from her revere. "Rachel will you stay after a minute?" Schue asked, and she gathered her things and nodded. She dawdled until the rest of the club was gone and then approached Mr. Schuester.

"Are you alright Rachel?" he asked, his eyes worried as he took in the teenagers exhausted looking form.

She shrugged. "Socially Mr. Schuester, I have done better." He watched her carefully, his affection for her was strong, even though she did drive him nuts at times.

"Is this about Finn?" he prodded gently, trying to not open the floodgates for the tears he knew she could access in seconds. But she didn't cry, just nodded silently and stared at the ground hard. He wished he could help her understand that the pain she felt now would make her stronger, but there was no way. It is a completely solo experience, healing from the first time someone breaks your heart. And in the end it will help her become tougher, but right now she was as fragile as ever. And it killed him to see someone he cared for like an godfather hurting like this.

"I know it's not always easy for you Rachel," Mr. Schuester began, choosing his words carefully "and I know that there are some things about yourself that you think you'd like to change. But you should know that there's some boy out there that will like you for everything that you are. Including those parts of you that even you don't like, those are going to be the things that he likes the most."

She sat there for a moment, her eyes now on him, just watching him. Then, without saying anything, she got up and hugged Mr. Schuester tightly.

As much as he tried to destroy her career by offering life lessons at her impending fames success, she knew that he was a good man and a good teacher. And what he had just said was proof of that.

"Thank you Mr. Schue" Rachel mumbled as she let go of him and slowly walked out, tears welling in her eyes. She hated herself like this. She had loved Finn with all her heart, she had tried to be the best version of herself for him, she had considered giving herself to him in ways that nobody had had of her yet. And he threw her away because he had to 'find himself". It wasn't fair and there was nothing she could do about it.

She noticed someone waiting in the hall and tried to wipe away the cascading tears from her face before they saw. Unfortunately Jesse was perceptive and caught on to what she was doing.

"Hey Rachel" he said, sidling up to her and taking a soft tone. "You doing alright?"

The second time she had been asked that question in ten minutes and she still had the same answer. But there was a different feeling coursing through her now. She felt... regenerated. Refreshed. She was undoubtedly still reeling from everything, all the new emotions flaring up due to Finn, but they all had less of an edge to them. She felt like she could now stand to look directly at him, instead of avoiding his figure. She felt those first steps to recovery being taken inside her. She smiled at him, the first true Rachel Berry smile he'd received.

"I'm doing alright," she said, feeling stronger saying those words "I'm doing alright."

And she smiled at Jesse again, actually believing them.

xxx

Later that evening Jesse found himself sitting on a piano stool beside a very giddy Rachel, empty cans of Starbucks Expressos scattered about on top of the instrument in the den of her home. Previously reluctant to let Jesse into her house, Rachel was now acting like she had known him for years, inviting him in, introducing him to her fathers Hiram and Leroy, and now letting him play her beloved baby grand piano that had been her high school entrance gift from her dads. They were an obviously close knit family, pictures of them were all over the large and immaculately laid out home, and Rachel had verbalized this sentiment several times, more and more after downing more cans of the coffee.

They had begun practicing with a litany of typical piano duets, wanting to ensure they kept all their options open even after deciding on "Hello Twelve". But after they ran through it once, they knew that it was the perfect one for the next day. The next three hours had been spent with them figuring out harmonies, changing parts around, and Jesse attempting to relearn the song without letting Rachel on that he had ever forgotten it. He hadn't played a piano in at least six months, but luckily he knew it was like riding a bike. He never forgot. After they had run through it at least thirty times (they were both perfectionists, not like there was anything wrong with that), they were finally satisfied. By then they were both rather caffeinated and had been speaking at an increasingly loud volume at any and all things, Broadway favorites, the pros and cons of being a vegetarian versus being vegan, and who should have taken home the most recent Tony awards but didn't. _In short_ Jesse thought _they were becoming friends_

"Oh my gosh," Rachel gasped, tears still sparkling in her eyes from laughing as Jesse recounted the abominable job the Wicked tour Fiyero understudy did when he went to see the play at the Pantages "what did your parents say? Are they as interested in critiquing understudies as you are?"

Jesse smiled even though she had brought up the one subject he usually refused to speak with anyone about. "They actually weren't there for that one" he said, hoping against hope she would drop it "I saw that one solo"

"You went by yourself?" she asked, astounded. "You were, what, 12 years old when it opened in LA?"

"Yeah. I was about to turn 13 actually. That was my gift from them. I sat three rows back in the orchestra seats." Her face didn't indicate the response he was looking for.

"So your parents bought you one ticket for your birthday, but sent you alone into Hollywood to celebrate alone?"

"Yeah..." He was visibly uncomfortable now, playing random melodies on the piano as he spoke, apparently just to have something to do with his hands. She looked baffled at the idea that parents wouldn't be at something that their child cared so much for.

"Have they been to others with you?" she asked cautiously, unsure of how much she wanted to know

"Not really. Not once, actually." Jesse now looked right at her. He never talked about his parents. _Never. _Not with his old friends who knew better than to ask, not with his teachers, not with his other perpetually absent family, and sure as hell not with anyone in Ohio. But here he was, talking about them to Rachel Berry. _Who would've thought_

"My parents have taken the decidedly less-popular parenting road of throwing money to raise me" he began, keeping eye contact with her "My dad is an investment banker who made a lot of money when everyone in California was losing their homes in the early Nineties. His life consists of working, driving home, working, then going to bed. Never deviates from the routine either. My mother spends her days either cleaning or shopping. I rarely see her. Her and my dad are perfect for each other, they both equally don't want to be bothered by me so they buy me stuff and pose for the Christmas card picture every year with me, and in their minds they've filled the parenting quota for the year."

He stopped talking and glanced anywhere but at her. He could sense that he had dumped too much emotional baggage on her too soon, but he couldn't help himself. For the first time in his life, Jesse legitimately felt like someone wanted to hear about this part of his existence. Not just the trophy count or which schools he had been early accepted into. The dirty laundry of a sham family he hid behind the overconfident exterior. He felt like he could tell Rachel. He felt like she could help him.

"Sorry" he mumbled, finally looking at her again. She didn't respond, so in his embarrassment, he stood up and straightened out his clothes. Apparently realizing she missed her cue, she abruptly stood up and hugged him hard, surprising him for a moment but then instinctively hugging her back.

"I'm sorry that your parents don't realize what a gift they have" she said, pulling back to look at him but not letting go. "Believe me Jesse. Its going to be them that regret it. You shouldn't have to feel like you're the one not good enough. You're more than in my opinion."

Before Jesse could say anything, Rachel's dads poked their heads into the den and Jesse and Rachel broke apart as they bid their daughter and her companion goodnight. Jesse spoke Father fluently, and took that as their nonverbal way of telling him it was time to go. After thanking them for their hospitality, he grabbed his coat and walked to the door.

"Thanks for tonight" she said as she leaned against the door frame, clutching her arms across her chest, slightly chilly from the breeze blowing in "I know I've been kind of closed off -"

"No way, there's nothing to apologize for" he cut in, determined to keep any thoughts of Finn and his bullshit from her mind "Besides, you let me talk about my parents. If that isn't enough to scare you off then I have a feeling that you might actually stick around me" he ended with a smile, which she returned. There was silence for a moment. It wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. It was nice. Peaceful. The kind of silence Jesse felt he could get used to.

"I gotta go," he said, breaking the comfortable silence "thank you for a night I truly enjoyed"

"I had fun too" she smiled up at him, and he couldn't help but feel like this was a first date. He viciously fought the instinct to kiss her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, whispering into her ear "Thanks for letting me talk to you about my parents. It means more than you know."

"You're welcome" she breathed into his shirt, giving him goosebumps.

He pulled away, giving her a smile and a wink, and said "goodnight" before taking the stairs down from her porch in one step and jumping into his car. Waving a goodbye, he sped away from her house.

She walked inside and closed her front door and leaned against it. Closing her eyes, she sighed and thought back to how he smelled as he wrapped her up in his embrace. It was only three days after she had been tragically dumped by Finn, there was no way that she could have growing feelings for someone else already. Could she? She opened her eyes and sighed again, realizing the inevitable.

_I have a crush on Jesse St. James_

**A/N: Review? :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi guys! So I was thinking about it, and I realized that I'm going to be going for it with this story. I had originally just set out with no thought of how far I wanted to take this, and after thinking about it hard, I decided I wanted to do this right. I don't want to do some short, shoddy job. Some AU's wrap it up very quickly, and you guys can tell. I don't want to be a member of that club. So if it's okay with you all, I'm going to put this one through its paces, and go for a legit, complete arched story. Hope its as good sounding an idea to you all as it is to me :) that being said, heres chapter 6. please let me know what you think!**

xxx

Jacob Ben Israel skulked past the group of laughing glee kids. For one brief, shining moment, he had almost been a (non singing, strictly limited to swaying in the back but still important) member of New Directions.

He had also been one step closer to getting into Rachel Berry's pants, which was the whole point of him going to school every day. That, and the whole "truancy is now a crime punishable by fine" law recently passed by the damn Ohio legislature. But mainly because of the Mission: Impossible - Rachel Berry version he lived every day.

He had held onto a faint hope regarding Rachel. Since Finn had elected to dump the hottest Jew since Babs herself, Jacob had considered himself the next most eligible bachelor to lend his perpetually polo-shirted shoulder to cry on. His assimilation would have been executed like that of a rebel coup. He would charm the leading lady, then force himself into a position of leadership, and axe the weak links (read: Finn Hudson). It would have been brilliant. But it was not to be, thanks to the arrival of a strange new student whose name Jacob now associated with Satan's.

Jesse St. James.

Not only in his arrival had he come bearing the talent to fill another spot on New Directions, but he had also apparently auditioned for the much more desirable role as confidante/shoulder-to-cry-on for one Rachel Berry. It was this consistently black shirted devil that was at the center of the laughing group.

Jacob had tried to understand what it was about this Luciferian senior that made him the most popular thing to hit McKinley since the arrival of Noah Puckerman who had been deflowering seniors when he was a freshman. But in all his efforts, Jacob had yet to find any dirt on St. James to post on his blog/twitter/facebook/myspace/tumblr accounts. His minions were chomping at the bit for gossip, and Jacob simply couldn't find any. He was the picture of a clean kid.

Which was why it was so interesting to hear whilst passing the glee club that there was talk of a small party allegedly happening at Jesse's house this coming Saturday. Jacob smirked, and whipped out his iPhone. Soon, the entire school would know about the party at St. James', and hopefully the midwestern party insanity would lead to some dirt he could use to get rid of him and clear the way for himself.

xxx

Rachel walked into glee that afternoon and made a beeline for Jesse, who was next to the piano and talking animatedly to Brad, the music teacher, playing melodies and discussing the better way to construct them on the keys. Getting him to allow anyone to play his piano was an effort, but somehow Jesse had charmed his way into it, and Brad was smiling to boot. Rachel was taken aback by that. She wasn't sure she had seen Brad smile before. Ever.

"You ready?" she asked as the piano teacher left and Jesse took the vacated spot on the bench.

He jumped, not realizing she had been behind him, and smirked up at her. "I was born ready Berry"

She rolled her eyes and she and Jesse quickly ran through their vocal warmups as the rest of the club filtered in.

"Okay, so I was thinking about it and I think we should switch the song" Jesse said quickly, while Mr. Schue walked in and began talking about the assignment. Rachel literally spun around to look at him.

"Are you nuts?" she demanded, feeling an overswell of nerves fly up in wake of his words "We can't just 'switch the song' two minutes before we're supposed to go! We rehearsed Hello 12 for a reason Jesse, what other one could you possibly think to-"

"Hello by Lionel Richie. It'd be perfect." he cut in, trying to stem the word vomit Rachel compulsively blurted out when anxious about a performance "Think about it Rachel" he crooned, trying to charm her into it "it's so symbolic. It's our first duet together, and what better way to show Mr. Schuester that we can handle the epic route then by doing an epic song? Besides" he added, smirk back in place "It'll show certain other male leads what an award winning voice _should_ sound like whilst ballading."

Rachel had to admit, he had a point. _I certainly do not want to do any more love solos with him, and considering how mine and Jesse's voices are exquisite together, this could be perfect._

She tried hard not to think about the fact that she was singing arguably the most romantic song she'd ever heard with a boy she was trying hard not to think about in any way other than friendly.

She snapped her eyes from Jesse's expectant ones to Finn's stony expression at them so close together and whispering. That made up her mind in a heartbeat.

"Let's do it." she said, grinning wickedly at Jesse whose own smirk became even more pronounced.

"So guys, what have you got for us?" Mr. Schuester asked, settling into his chair in front of the room and looking expectantly towards the two on the piano stool. Rachel stood and straightened her owl sweater. _Damn nervous habit_ she thought testily

"We're doing 'Hello' by Lionel Richie" she said. Jesse followed it up with a more smug remark in "It's basically our audition for Regionals opening number Mr. Schuester."

"Great, lets hear it" Mr. Schue said and leaned back. Rachel traced her fingers over the top of the piano as Jesse began to tap at the keys, the opening notes resounding through the wood lid under Rachel's hands. She felt her goosebumps at the sound of his voice joining the keys

_I've been alone with you inside my mind_

_and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times_

_I sometimes see you pass outside my door_

_Hello? Is it me you're looking for?_

As she joined him on the next set of lines, their voices were just as perfect together in true performance as they were in the intimate setting of her father's music room. Rachel briefly opened her eyes to see Jesse's on the piano keys, and then flicking back up to hers with a smile that she returned

_I can see it in your eyes_

_I can see it in your smile_

_You're all I've ever wanted and my arms are open wide_

_Because you know just what to say_

_And you know just what to do_

_And I want to tell you so much _

_I love you_

By this time she had moved unconsciously back to the stool where Jesse was seated. He moved over a bit so she could join him on it, not missing a stroke of the ivory or a note in the lyrics.

_I long to see the sunlight in your hair_

_And tell you time and time again how much I care_

_Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow_

_Hello? I've just got to let you know_

_Because I wonder where you are _

_And I wonder what you do_

_Are you somewhere feeling lonely_

_Or is someone loving you_

_Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue_

_But let me start by saying _

_I love you_

xxx

_I'm an idiot. _

Those three words continued to pound through Jesse's mind as he sang with Rachel. Sure, he could have run with the idea that he really was trying to convince Schuester that he was the best candidate for the male leads. He could have done this to mark his territory to Finn. But he wasn't. He was doing it because he wanted to sing his favorite love song with the girl he couldn't get his mind off of for five seconds. Which was cocky (even for him), dangerous, _and totally worth it_ he thought.

It had been amazing. Truly, even from a strictly professional approach, his and Rachel's voices together were like something straight from a Broadway dream team. He was stunned every time she opened her mouth, but her previous skills were eclipsed with this performance. Something had snapped in him, and he was hellbent to perform with her at Regionals. He had to get Finn out of the way. No way could he miss an opportunity to play off someone who was so talented in front of hundreds of people.

As the song ended, the others in the club gave off a round of raucous applause (he had expected no less), and he remembered just in time to slap on the smirk before Rachel's eyes went back to him from the applauding classmates. He swept arrogantly from the piano stool and took Rachel's hand in a bow, and went to his seat.

As Mr. Schuester continued on about their performance, Jesse's superiority complex was encouraged a bit more. As he looked over the other kids, he knew most of them wouldn't have what it took to make it. While they were all talented and had been very accepting to him once he had proven his talent, they didn't have the tunnel vision that only he and Rachel seemed to share. It was another reason that he believed she and him got on so well. They could understand each others ambitions. The drive, the perpetual want and work required to simply hold the dream set them apart from the others. It made them special. It made Rachel special.

Mr. Schue finished talking and called on Mercedes. She strutted up to the front of the room and began belting out "Umbrella", putting Rihanna's version to shame. She had the voice, that was for sure, but she seemed to be interested in the recording aspect of fame. She wanted the pop song smash hits and VMA performances. She could very well get them. But Jesse never saw the appeal of that route. You get the fame, sure, and sometimes you get the career with longevity, but for him the only future he wanted was one where he could become a legend. He wanted to originate a legendary role on the Great White Way, he wanted to be the new face in the revival of an old beloved and retooled classic show. To see his face on posters and see his name in the liner notes of an Original Broadcast Recording CD were the only things worth going after.

As he thought about things worth going after, his gaze slipped from Mercedes (who was still busy owning her song) to Rachel. She was aptly watching her teammate, as if trying to find something in Mercedes' performance that she could adapt to her own to improve it. He was so impressed with her. A sophomore who was light years ahead of everyone else. He hoped she was free tomorrow. He wanted her at his small get together, and if the stars aligned for him (as they should, he was Jesse St. James after all) he could find an excuse to capture her presence for an evening. He did kind of begin planning this whole thing for that specific reason, and he'd be damned if things didn't fall into place.

xxx

As Finn sat and watched his ex sing a completely see through love ballad with the newest addition to New Directions, his blood unexpectedly boiled. Sure, he broke up with her, but that didn't mean that he wanted to watch her have eyesex with some new dude she didn't even know! This was Rachel, not Santana or even Quinn, she didn't move on so quickly. She was supposed to still be sad over him. So what the hell was she doing singing this song with a guy she couldn't take her eyes off of?

What. The. Hell.

Jesse seemed like a nice guy. He had been appearing to be nudging his way into Finn's solo's, but after all the babydrama and the loss of Quinn, Puck, and his dumping of Rachel had left Finn pretty much only with Kurt to talk to about how he felt. And stuff.

None of that mattered right now though. He may have forfeited his rights to have a say in Rachel's life, but he didn't like the way that Jesse kid was looking at her. It felt intense. He had to intervene. If that meant trying to woo Rachel back to him, so be it.

As Mercedes finished her song and the group again burst into applause, Finn saw Jesse lean forward and whisper something in Rachel's ear. She burst out laughing and Finn wanted to hit something in a jealous rage. This wasn't okay. It was like everyone was doing things just to hurt his feelings now.

The bell rang and the club began to file out. Finn watched as Jesse was surrounded by Kurt, Santana, Matt, Mike, and Artie, all asking about the party he was apparently hosting this weekend. Finn listened closely as Jesse explained that his parents had gone on a cruise to recover from the stress of the move. Finn snorted. If there was ever a more ridiculous reason to go on vacation, he wouldn't be surprised to hear that mama and papa St. James had gone on holiday for that as well.

He walked past the group and smirked to himself. He would make an appearance at the St. James house tomorrow. Maybe bring a few friends of his won who weren't in glee, just to stir things up for the new casanova. And while Jesse was busy trying to keep his house from being destroyed, Finn could find Rachel and show her how bad Jesse was. Even if she didn't want to hear it.

xxx

Rachel had been surprised and pleased when Jesse invited her to the small get together he was having that weekend. It was the first time she had been invited to anything party-related in her entire high school experience, including after joining glee. To say she was excited would be like saying The Phantom of the Opera was only kind of popular. Understated and as far from accurate as possible.

She decided to doll up, and spent the day before heading over to Jesse's mainly at the mall trying on every dress she deemed cute. After 8 hours, she had finally decided on a simple white summer dress with a pair of red flats. It was (in her mind at least), a form of high school debutante, even if it was just with the glee kids. She had never seen them outside of doing work for the club, and she wanted to make a good impression of alternate life Rachel Berry. She had arranged for Kurt to pick her up (in exchange for letting him do her makeup), and had actually gotten an up/down and a nod of approval on her choice in duds. Mercedes of course was with him, and also gave Rachel an impressed look, for once sans of any snarky comment towards her.

"Have you been here before Rachel?" the female diva asked as Kurt thumbed in Jesse's address to the cars GPS computer.

"Never" Rachel said offhandedly, checking her phone as it beeped with a new text message from Jesse. _Can't wait to see you :) _She grinned automatically and put her phone away, her hands anxious for something to do until they got there. "He rarely mentions it, I don't think he is even here that often."

"Hm." Mercedes replied, exchanging a knowing look with Kurt. Rachel missed it though, she was too busy staring out the window lost in thought. "I mean, we just assumed that you had seen it before," Kurt now took over the inquiry, making a sharp left turn in front of oncoming traffic and not even messing up his perfectly combed hair. "You did seem rather cozy with him during your number yesterday afternoon..."

"That particular emotion was due strictly to the performance required by the strenuously emotional Lionel Richie. I have yet to witness anyone singing that song who hasn't had to put some acting into it to make it more plausible to the audiences beliefs" Rachel said, very quickly. She didn't want these two especially to figure out that she maybe, sort of, okay DID have a crush on her new friend. It would be all over McKinley faster than Jacob Ben Israel with a freshly charged iPhone and a Twitter app.

This did not seem to dissuade the two in the front seat however, because even as they finally pulled onto Jesse's street, they were going on and on about their suspicious amount of musical chemistry. But when they arrived at the St. James residence, their three mouths dropped.

When Jesse mentioned that his father made a lot of money in the early Nineties, Rachel thought that "a lot" meant enough to live comfortably on. By the looks of the massive house in front of them surrounded by what seemed to be the entire student body of McKinley High milling around it, he had done more than just well enough. Kurt hastily grabbed a parking spot and the three made their way up the winding drive to the house, which was blasting music and the yells of inebriated high schoolers.

As soon as they got in the door, Kurt was grabbed by Brittany and Santana who were clutching at him to share his moisturizing secrets, Mercedes was pulled into Matt and Mike's conversation, and Rachel was left alone, surrounded by people who harassed her daily, and there was no sign of Jesse anywhere.

She began to wander through the house and checked in the main rooms for a sight of her friend. She couldn't find him, but did come into the clutches of Jacob, who was wearing a pompous smile and almost leering at her.

"Oh, h-hello Rachel" he hiccuped, clutching a red plastic "Bad Decision" cup in his hand, his phone in the other. "Say I love your berries!, Berry!" and he snapped a photo of her disgusted look as he threw his arm around her and photobombed his own picture. She tried pushing him off but was only subjected to more of his drunken stupor "I love you"'s. After five minutes of his slobbering, Rachel heard a roar of laughter come from the room adjacent to the one she was held hostage in, and saw Jesse emerge from a large crowd that he apparently had just been entertaining. He spotted Rachel, and a massive grin broke out on his face. A moment later, a black shirted arm shoved its way in between Jacob and Rachel and separated the aggressor and his victim. Rachel smirked as Jacob turned to scowl at the person the arm belonged to, but then squeaked with fear as the tall senior figure of Jesse St. James loomed over him.

As Jacob turned tail and stumbled away as fast as his fifth-beer-that-night-legs would take him, Rachel turned to her knight in the dark button up dress shirt and grinned.

"Hello" he sang, his smirk in place "is it me you're looking for?" She laughed and rolled her eyes as he gathered her in his arms for a tight squeeze of a hug. She tried to be subtle as she breathed in his scent, all soap and fabric softener and something uniquely Jesse. She felt comfortable for the first time since she'd arrived.

"Sorry about all this" he said as he released his hold on her. "I don't know how so many people found out about the 'small gathering' I was having."

"It probably had something to do with Jacob and his obsessive twatting" Rachel remarked, watching as Jesse gave Jacob another dirty look.

"Well whatever he did, he certainly knows how to get people to crash a party. About 20 minutes before you guys showed up, I could have sworn I saw Coach Sylvester man-handling some Cheerios into her Suburban to go to practice." Rachel burst out laughing again a the visual, and followed Jesse through to a more quieter room.

"You have a beautiful home" she remarked, taking in the expensive looking kitchen furnishings and crystal chandelier over the stand alone cooking island. She noticed the lack of pictures on the fridge. There were none on the countertops or the walls either. From what she had heard of Jesse's family however, that wasn't a surprise.

"Thanks" he shrugged "Not much of a home though." Rachel didn't know how to respond to that. She stood nervously for a moment and then tried to bring another subject up.

"So everyone just showed up out of the blue?"

"I received a chain text about an insane party happening tonight" he said, looking at her with an air of being faux-impressed "Funnily enough the address was my own." Rachel couldn't hold back her laughter, and had to hold onto the island to remain standing. Jesse rolled his eyes and waited for her to finish, not noticing how his eyes had taken in her appearance while she was doubled up. His stomach flipped as she raked her long hair back and straightened out her dress.

"You look amazing Rachel" he blurted out, any subtlety he wanted to throw in there replaced by gut feelings. She blushed and thanked him, and for the first time, a hint of awkwardness passed between them.

He shook it off and said quickly "Lets go find some of the other guys, yeah?" to mask the moment, and led her out of the kitchen and back into the thick of the party.

xxx

For the next hour, Jesse and Rachel were the life of the night, and Rachel felt widely accepted by a population that usually just slushied her as opposed to watching her every move because they thought she was worth watching. She and Jesse played off each other well, and by the time the rest of the club (and about fifty other uninvited party attendees) showed up, the majority of the attention was on the two as they had claimed the karaoke set from the drunken Cheerios who had escaped the talons of Coach Sylvester, and had been belting show tune after show tune, much to the entertainment of the masses. The fact that most of them were wasted out of their minds had no bearing on Rachel's mind, she actually preferred them like that. _They are so much more supportive of the arts whilst intoxicated_ she thought, after their fourth round of raucous applause.

"I need a breather," she shouted to Jesse, over the cat calls of what seemed to be most of the football team, and stepped off of the coffee table she had found herself on. He nodded at her and kept going with Bohemian Rhapsody. As she grabbed a bottle of water, she made her way through the living room and onto the patio with a few of the smokers. Taking a long sip, she rested her head against the cool wall behind her. Closing her eyes, she smiled as she thought of how wonderful this night was turning out to be. _And to think I was considering leaping out of Kurt's car and running when I saw the slushers_

She didn't notice how the sliding door leading from the house was opened and out came an abnormally tall figure towards her. She heard one of the smokers acknowledge a newcomers presence, and opened her eyes to find Finn Hudson standing before her, letterman jacket on, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

She stared at him. He stared at her. The smokers stared at both of them.

"Hi Rach" he said, awkwardly breaking the silence and shifting on his motorboat sized feet. She didn't respond. _Maybe if I blink he'll be gone, and I'll only have to worry about possible schizophrenic like symptoms as opposed to Finn actually being by me, and talking to me._

She blinked. He was still there. She didn't know if she was more disappointed about his presence or of the lack of mental illness.

"Having a good time?" he pressed, trying to get a response. She couldn't speak, couldn't think except to reiterate over and over again _why is he here, why is he talking to me? _"I saw you up there-"

"What do you want Finn" she asked abruptly, interrupting him. He tried to look offended and gave up when she didn't give him the reaction he wanted.

"I came to check up on you. I saw you run out here after Jesse made you sing with him. Wanted to make sure you were okay."

She almost laughed in his face. He thought Jesse was forcing her to sing with him? He honestly believed that Jesse was the biggest problem in her life right now? She knew Finn was dumb, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

"I wasn't being forced into anything _Finn_" emphasizing on his name with attitude "Unlike some, Jesse actually lets me dictate what extra-curricular activities I engage in, and actually enjoys conversing with me." She took some smug satisfaction in the confused look he was now sporting after her somewhat larger sized vocabulary choices.

"I dont think you understand what he's doing Rachel" Finn said, powering on through his previous confusion "He's just using you to further his goals for glee. He just wants solos, and knows that making himself look good with you is the best way to do that"

"And how would you know that Finn?" she demanded "Could it be because you yourself actually used my feelings for you to trick me back into the club so _you _could get a scholarship?"

He glared at her "This isn't about me Rachel-"

"Well somebody go ahead and call the international press, Finn Hudson isn't thinking about himself for once!" she spat, hands angrily on her hips.

"Oh thats great Rach," Finn raised his voice and arms simultaneously "Coming from someone infamous for putting herself first at all times!"

"I put the team first Finn, and you would have known that if you hadn't decided to find yourself at the expense of my feelings before even giving me a chance!" she _hated_ the quiver she heard in her voice, she _hated_ the burning in her throat and the blurring of her vision that were indications of the tears she knew were imminent. "I'm done with this Finn! I'm done with you!" and she stormed off into the house, Finn hot on her heels.

xxx

Jesse was finishing another song as he heard the door to the back bang open and a small brunette in a white dress come plowing through the people crowded in the main room. Jesse jumped down and jogged over to meet her, a sick feeling in his stomach as he took note of the tears in her eyes and the sobs she was barely holding back

"Rachel whats wrong?" he asked, his hands on her arms, a concerned look firmly on his features. Before she could clear her throat enough to speak, a second figure came barreling through the living room and stopped when he spotted them.

"Hey!" the figure yelled, shoving people out of the way in his effort to get to the pair "Get your hands off her St. James"

Jesse shot him a dangerous look, and Rachel pushed him back from Finn. "Jesse its nothing, let it go"

"_Yeah_ _Jesse,_" Finn sneered "_Let it go_"

All Jesse's willpower went into not smacking Finn Hudson down like the hand of God in that second. Focusing on Rachel, he whispered "Go upstairs, last door on the left. I'll meet you there in a minute" She gave him a warning look, as if nonverbally banning any idea of a hand of God smackdown, and then headed off in the direction he had indicated. Turning back to Finn, he approached the sophomore and stared him down menacingly.

"You have sixty seconds to get out of my house before I employ some of your inebriated teammates to escort you out." He breathed at Finn, who hadn't backed down.

"I know what you're doing with Rachel" Finn said, ignoring the warning and stepping closer "I know you're using her. And now that you know that I know, rest assured that if it doesn't stop, I'll step in."

"Forty seconds" Jesse said, ignoring Finn's words "Thirty-nine. Thirty-eight. Thirty-seven..." trailing off, Finn stared at him angrily and then stormed away to the front door, slamming it so hard the massive glass widow above it rattled.

Jesse ignored the looks of the other partygoers and headed towards the stairs. He needed to see what exactly had happened to Rachel, and if he needed to take a trip to visit Finn again tonight.

xxx

Rachel had followed Jesse's directions and made her way quickly upstairs and to the last room on the left. Pushing open the door, she stepped into what was unmistakably the place where Jesse slept and spent most of his time while at home. This room, unlike the rest of the house which was cold and indifferent, more museum than home, was full of color and life. It was like the rest in that it was meticulously cleaned and organized, but there was something alive in the neatly framed show posters and playbill collection. The way his bookshelf was organized by author, and then sub-organized by authors subject was endearingly familiar to Rachel. The Berry household organized their family collection in the same way.

There were photos placed neatly around the room, on his desk, nightstand, and on the dressers of Jesse dating back at least since the start of his show choir days. There was a picture of him standing with a full group, grinning widely and holding a trophy that was at least as large as the then freshman St. James. Another next to it showed him with his arms around the same group of people, this time a sophomore, standing next to the winning trophy. The third showed the same group, another trophy beside them, apparently his junior year. And the final photo in the arrangement was of him with that same group, this time not in outrageously colored shirts or clutching absurdly large prizes, but in just casual clothing. It appeared that some of the girls in the group had been crying (even though their showfaces were good enough to fool a passive observer, Rachel had enough experience hiding tears), and there was a banner in the background of the photo that read "We'll miss you Jess!" This had to have been taken right before he had left for Ohio, because he looked the same as he did now, tall and self assured, if not a little uncharacteristically sad for a photo opportunity.

She continued around his room, taking in how he organized his CD's and how he had left his MacBook on the pullout keyboard of his desk as opposed to the top of it. Little quirks that Rachel found all too familiar. She settled on to the bed and waited, hoping and praying Finn wasn't causing a scene again. The aggressive side of Finn had been seen before, but not towards her. It had been justifiable then, but tonight? His antics were uncharacteristic, and completely out of line. Cornering her and demanding that she stop being around Jesse! He had no say in how or who with she spent her time. He didn't even know Jesse. He was missing who Jesse was _entirely_.

As the door opened, Rachel shook her thoughts aside. Jesse came into the room and shut the door quietly behind him. He gingerly sat himself on his bed next to her.

"I'm so sorry Rachel" he began, running a hand nervously through his hair "I didn't know that he would be here, and when you came in like that, I just knew it was something he did" trailing off, he caught her eye. He wanted her to understand that she could talk to him, she could let him in like he had let her in about his parents.

She let out a slight sniffle, and Jesse put a tentative arm around her, to which she immediately melted into. He hugged her tightly as she shook a little bit and her small frame released some of those earlier threatened tears into the fabric of his shirt. It absolutely killed him to see her like this, and at the hands of Finn Hudson no less.

"You know what I thought the first time I heard about your Finn issues?" he asked as she took deep, steadying breaths, shaking her head no. "I thought about a song by Dashboard Confessional. Its called Belle of the Boulevard. Its about a girl who is the starlet of where she comes from, and how even though she tries as hard as she can, she can't catch a break." She had pulled away from him now, but he was thrilled to see she gripped his hand with hers as he spoke. "It's about how this girl should never let whatever these boys throw at her get her down. Because despite what they may say, or how bad it might hurt, at the end of the day she is still holding on."

He reached a hand to tuck a strand of errant hair behind her ear, and smiled at her. "You're the belle of the boulevard Rachel. Nothing Finn says or does can take that away from you. I hope you know that."

She was looking at him so hard he thought she could see right through him. The way her eyes were red rimmed, the way the tear tracks were still fresh, the way the tip of her nose was still sort of pink, all of it made her more beautiful to him. She dropped her gaze and let go of his hand. She stood up, and he stood with her, watching closely to make sure she was alright.

She straightened her dress and looked back up at him. She took his hand in both of hers and said, simply "Thank you."

They stood that way for a minute more, until Jesse was sure her breathing was even enough to face the crowd again. He smiled and winked at her as he opened the door, and together, hand in hand, they walked down the stairs and back into the fray, the both feeling safer with each other than they had with another person before.

**Review? :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter is a big one plotwise. With that also comes a rating increase for language. I normally have a filthy mouth myself, but I've tried to keep it out of the story until I deemed it absolutely necessary, and this chapter definitely qualifies as profanity-worthy. Please enjoy and review :)**

xxx

The next few weeks became a blur to Jesse – between rehearsals and classes, he was occupied ninety percent of the time with something revolving around William McKinley High School. He would rise at 5 A.M. Every day to run and work out due exclusively to the fact that by the time he got home after glee and finished his homework, he was too exhausted to do anything but sleep. And text Rachel of course.

Rachel was keeping him sane however, and it was her constant presence near him that kept him out of full miva mode. She said it was strictly to protect the rest of the student population from the wrath of two glee clubbers exhibiting diva behavior. They couldn't handle it. Jesse secretly agreed. She was diva enough for both of them. Things would get ugly if he snapped. But thanks to her he didn't, and for the most part the only thing plaguing New Directions aside from the occasional Rachel Berry shriek was Finn.

After Jesse's party (and the blatant confrontation between the two male leads), Finn had kept his distance from both Rachel and Jesse, as well as seemingly losing any spark remaining for glee as well. Mr. Schuester, fond as he was of Finn, felt like he had no choice but to give Jesse and Rachel the opening number for Regionals since Finn didn't really seem to be there anymore. Of course, the "Hello" audition had pretty much solidified Will's decision before Finn went off the deep end of not caring, and Jesse's demand to do a duet with Rachel in the competition showed that the new teen actually gave a damn. Will had no choice, and even if he had, it would have gone to Team St. James.

Jesse and Rachel killed every number they tried out before deciding on one, and since the choice had been solidified, they along with the rest of the club had been working hard at perfecting the vocal arraignments for a few weeks now. That meant lots of time in the choir room, lots of late night food runs, and lots of together time. He wasn't complaining though: He and Rachel had become close friends, and even when they had that limited free time, they chose to spend it with each other, watching old movie after old movie, hanging out with her dads (who, Jesse was proud to say, had taken a true liking to him), and just whiling the hours away with conversation. He was loving his life.

But as good as it was to be seeing her every day and being the one she spent her precious free time with and as much as he repeated the _just friends just friends just friends_ mantra to himself, he couldn't help but notice things about Rachel that someone who was more than a friend would notice. Like how she wore her hair down on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays, and up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or how the gold star she put after writing her name was always just a little bit crooked on its axis. And how in the mornings when Jesse would occasionally pick her up, she always smelled like sweet pea body spray, and the gorgeous aroma of it lingered in his car for days. He was starting to feel like she could wear a garbage bag and he would know that it looked good on her.

But the fact that he couldn't go for anything more at the moment was eating at him. She was (finally) getting over Finn from what she told him on their now routine rides home, and she was optimistic. But he knew her well enough by now to know that it wasn't fair to her to expect a full on relationship when she was barely a month out of one with a guy who she thought she had loved. Jesse's feelings for her were that deep. He wanted her to be happy more than he wanted her to be his.

_He was becoming a damn softie_ he continually thought, but whenever he was around the petite brunette that was causing this phenomena to happen, he was more than okay with it if it kept her beautiful smile on her lips and any thoughts of Finn far from clouding her mind.

xxx

"No no no no!" Mr. Schuester yelled, throwing his hands up in the air with frustration "Finn, you have to watch your feet!"

The rest of New Directions groaned, this was the third time this rehearsal that Finn had been singled out by Schue for his two left feet, and even though Tina was being a trooper and not voicing her pain, she was starting to wince every time she took a step thanks to his clodding about.

After much deliberation on the part of Mr. Schuester, Rachel, Jesse, and a resentful Finn, they had decided to go with the song that Jesse had chosen, and continue in the vein of more contemporary songs with "Two Is Better Than One", and have Jesse and Rachel take the leads on it. It was going to be their opening number, followed by a revamped and faster version of "All You Need Is Love". Mr. Schuester had apparently been thinking of the mix of classic and contemporary for the judges and had more than readily accepted the idea of Jesse's choice for the opener to set the tone. The rest of New Directions loved the idea, and it would have gone off without a hitch if Finn had been able to control his feet.

"I can't keep my concentration on my dancing if the song is being butchered Mr. Schue" Finn spat towards his teacher, shooting the leads a dirty look.

Jesse and Rachel, who had up to this time held their tongues on either side of the stage where they had been stopped, exchanged raised eyebrows at each other.

"I'm sorry, how exactly is our magnificent rendition affecting your attempted dancing?" Jesse started, taking a step towards Finn who had been inching his way to the front of the stage since the whole exchange began.

"You're not the right one for this solo." Finn stated "I should be singing it." He turned to Mr. Schuester "I'm the male lead, this should go to me"

"Finn we've already had this discussion, the audition went to Jesse, and thats how it is. We can't go changing it with so little time left before regionals-"

"And besides" Jesse interjected, his anger apparent "This number requires walking without tripping Finn. I'm not sure you can pull it off"

"Jesse-" Rachel warned, crossing the stage to try and halt the slowly getting closer senior as he was nearing Finn "Just let it go" she whispered when she was in front of him, her hand on his arm softly pulling him behind her as she led him away from the center of the stage.

"No, don't talk to him like I'm not standing right here Rachel!" Finn bellowed "I don't want him to let it go, he shouldn't be doing this song and he knows it! He's pitchy as hell, you might as well have two chicks singing it!"

"Have you been in an explosion recently Finn?" Jesse said, his face turning bright red as he spoke, tugging his arm out of Rachel's grasp "Or have you been sacked directly on both ears whilst leading the football team to one of their 12 consecutive losses this season? Because to my years-of-training-seasoned ears, I have yet to be off pitch once. You on the other hand might want to reconsider criticizing me due to the awful habit you've developed of being as pitchy as a thirteen year old girl singing Christina Aguilera while being driven to the supermarket by her mother to buy her first box of tampons."

Finn barreled right up to Jesse's face, but Jesse didn't flinch, the only stress showing was the veins in his neck bulging. Matt and Puck both quickly got in between the two and pulled them back slightly, neither breaking eye contact with the other.

"You're forgetting that I was here before you were St. James, and I'll be here long after you graduate to mop up after the mess you leave, and that includes any relationships or annihilating our chances at Regionals because you sound like a chick"

"That would require me making a mess, and unlike you I have the ability to maintain relationships with people as opposed to crushing them to _find myself_" Jesse pushed at Matt's restraints, a sneer on his face, "I know how to treat people, especially ones who are fragile to begin with"

"Screw you Jesse, you're just chasing after my leftovers because the bitch is too dumb to see that you're only using her to make yourself look better-"

"Don't you DARE talk about her like that you bastard-" Jesse roared, straining again to get past Matt who seemed to be loosening his grip a bit

Rachel pushed her way in front of Jesse again "Finn back off" she threw over her shoulder, disgusted with how barbaric he was acting. She focused her attention on Jesse "Seriously, lets go" But Jesse didn't even look at her, he was so focused on his anger at Finn that it was like she was talking to a wall. He kept his eyes trained on him and only him.

"It seems like you have a pretty big issue with the song Hudson," Jesse said, goading him on still "or maybe it's just me. You sure it isn't about something else, maybe something that you willingly tossed away and then realized how bad you had fucked up?" As he said "something else", Jesse's eyes went right down to Rachel standing in front of him. Finn saw this pointed move.

At that, Finn lost it.

He threw off Puck, shoved Matt aside, and barreled straight at Jesse, who pushed Rachel out of the way just before Finn threw a punch towards Jesse's face. He ducked just in time, swung back at him, and made contact with Finn's jaw.

"Hey!" Mr. Schue yelled and jumped up, and began running towards the stage. Santana screamed, Mercedes and Kurt gasped, and the rest of New Directions stood gaping at the grappling male leads now throughly beating the crap out of each other onstage. Mr. Schuester lept up and made a grab at Jesse but missed him, as Puck made an attempt at Finn but also couldn't get hold. The boys tripped over each other and went down heavily, neither breaking the hold on the other to halt the fall. Puck and Mr. Schue used the opportunity to latch on to Jesse who had gained the upper hand and was wailing on Finn. He managed to land one more hit to the sophomore before being dragged off by the two others. Matt and Mike had rushed in and taken hold of Finn who, despite sporting a massive blooming black eye and numerous cuts and bruises was still trying to get at Jesse.

"Fuck you Jesse!" Finn was screaming, straining at the two boys' hold, his face contorted with rage "This isn't finished!"

"I know it isn't finished bitch, you're still talking" Jesse snarled back at him, spinning back around to face Finn's direction "Next time your jaws getting wired shut and Artie'll have to give you the number to a wheelchair supplier"

"That's it!" Schue shouted at the two of them "Matt, Mike get Finn back to my office in the choir room" As the two boys left, tugging a still fuming Finn along with them, Schuester turned to Jesse. The look on the young mans face actually scared Will. It was so twisted and enraged that the occasionally high strung but usually mellow Jesse St. James was almost unrecognizable.

"You need to get out of here Jesse, go home and cool off" Will glanced around for Rachel, who was being hugged by a very concerned looking Mercedes. "Rachel, can you make sure he gets to his car and off school property?"

Rachel nodded silently and started the walk to the parking lot exit of the auditorium, pausing at the doors when she reached them and waiting for Mr. Schue to release his hold on Jesse.

Will lead the young man away from the rest of the group and put both hands on his shoulders.

"Jesse you need to get out of here for awhile. Don't come to rehearsal tomorrow. You don't really need the practice, to be honest. Make sure you run through your warm ups at home or something. I don't want to see you in glee until Monday," Mr. Schue glanced back at the rest of the glee kids, all whispering to each other and looking back and forth between Jesse and Schue and each other at a blistering pace. He continued on in a quieter voice. "When you come to school tomorrow, avoid Finn at all costs. I can't afford to have my two male soloists be suspended weeks before the biggest competition we've ever faced" he look Jesse square in the eye "I hope you can understand how severe the consequences can be if Figgins or Sue Sylvester or anyone else finds out about you and Finn beating the hell out of each other, and me intentionally not reporting it"

Jesse nodded, still unable to speak from rage, thinking of his admission to the several colleges he'd been accepted into were not complete yet. They were dependent on his graduation and maintenance of a spotless record. Going at it in an onstage show choir beatdown could be grounds for him losing his future education. His mouth was firmly shut on the matter, and he would not allow Finn Hudson to be the frayed rope his future hung from.

"Okay. You need to get out of here. Go with Rachel. See you next week." Mr. Schuester dismissed him, and turned back to the rest of the club. Making sure Jesse made his way opposite to how Finn left, he saw Rachel regarding her friend with a look Will knew all too well: That boy was going to get an earful in the next ten minutes. Will felt bad for him, but he felt worse for Rachel. She had to watch two people she cared for get in a physical fight over _something_ that had to do with her.

Will wasn't blind, he knew that there was more between those two than just friendship. Where Jesse was a determined and sometimes miva-like dominant person with others in the school, he was soft with Rachel. The way he looked at her when she sang was the way Will imagined he looked at Emma. But unlike his and Emma's relationship, Jesse hadn't lost his way with Rachel yet. He was hoping this wouldn't be something that ruined that between his students.

xxx

Jesse walked behind Rachel, who up to this point had been silent towards him. Whether from anger or fear, he didn't know. He was still internally enraged, all he wanted to do was find Finn Hudson and continue to beat the hell out of him. _How dare he think that he had some sort of claim over Rachel. How dare he call her a bitch, and right in front of her nonetheless._ Jesse was so offended on Rachel's behalf, and he felt rather chivalrous beating up the offender. Regardless of any other feelings he had developed for Rachel of a more romantic persuasion, she was still his best friend first and foremost, and nobody spoke about her like that. Nobody.

When she stopped by his car in the lot, she stopped and turned instead of getting into her side. He stared at her. She raised her eyebrows at him. They stood there for a moment.

"What?" he burst out, unable to keep the nonverbal awkward conversation going.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her eyes finally betraying some of the inner worry her stubborn conscious had refused to speak aloud until now.

"I'm fine" he stiffly muttered back, unwilling to let her see that he was anything but pissed. Finn's labeling Rachel as little more than an object had infuriated Jesse beyond belief. She seemed to be alright but that didn't mean he couldn't want to find Finn again, scholarships be damned.

"It didn't look like you were fine when you were rolling around onstage fighting with Finn." she stated, the concern she had just been exhibiting swiftly gone behind a cool exterior. "I'm really disappointed in you Jesse."

_Wait, what!_ his mind screamed _I just got in a fight for her! I just sacrificed my flawless face for a few days to shut Finn up about her!_

"I'm sorry, you have a problem with me hitting Finn when he calls you a bitch and objectifies you to nothing more than a possession?" Jesse said, trying to figure out if he was hallucinating or if she actually was angry with him

"Yes, I do have a problem with it. You're better than that Jesse, you don't need to jump into a brawl in some attempt to protect my honor or something" Rachel's words cut him like a blade "You honestly think that I care what Finn says about me? He was speaking out of anger and resentment, and I thought you would have been able to see that."

"Unbelievable" Jesse snarled, digging in his pockets for his keys and brushing by her angrily to his car. He turned back to her

"You should think about what you say after someone tries to protect you and your multifaceted emotions" his eyes were furious, a darker blue than she had seen before "I'm disgusted that you're reacting like this. I expected you to be thankful"

"Thankful for almost getting yourself expelled?" she fought back, angry as well and intended on him to know it "You could have really hurt him Jesse, he could have injured you! You both could have been unable to compete, therefore negating any chance at Regionals and any chance at college for you!" Rachel's voice was getting higher and higher as she spoke, a tell-tale sign she was flustered beyond belief.

"Next time someone calls you a bitch to your face, I'll make sure to talk it over with you before trying to put them in their place for it then" he spat, gesturing wildly in the air "apparently it is too much to ask of you to be even a little happy that you have someone who was willing to risk a full ride on you"

"Don't bother trying to blame me Jesse, I didn't sic you on him-"

"You might as well have, all trembling lower lips and pulling me back, there is no way that you could have expected me to have a better reaction when I see you about to cry Rachel! I thought you knew me better than that!" His words rang heavily on the silence now between them. Rachel was looking at him as if seeing him for the first time. It was a look he had only seen her give to Finn. He felt himself sweating as he realized that.

"You need to leave," Rachel said, voice cold and un-Rachel-like "Go learn how to control your temper. Call me when you figure out how to." and with that, she turned her back on him and walked back towards the auditorium without giving him a chance to respond, to apologize. He wanted to chase after her, but his legs would not move. He wanted to grab her to him and say he was sorry and that he did it because of how much she meant to him, but he couldn't pick his feet off the ground. Instead he watched her go for a moment and then climbed in his car. He squealed out of the parking lot, not looking back in the rearview, not knowing if he was more afraid to see her watching him go or to see that she wasn't.

xxx

Rachel walked slowly back to the stage. Finn, Mike, Matt, and Mr. Schue were all gone. Mercedes was holding court with Kurt, Tina, Artie, and Puck. Jesse was gone. Rachel slumped into a seat in the front row and waited for someone, anyone to come back and give direction. She had an empty feeling after her fight with Jesse, they had become so close over the last few weeks, how could he get so out of control? She felt like she could burst into tears at any second, and the one person she wanted to be near her right now was the reason for that.

In Spring Awakening terms, she was totally fucked.

She felt someone settle down into the seat next to her and she raised her head out of her hands to see Quinn Fabray there, belly as large as ever, evidently ready to pop any day now.

"So," the blonde began, eyes on Rachel "you and Jesse?"

"We're just friends" Rachel repeated dully, speaking the words she thought to herself every time she felt the flutter now associated with the boy who had just gone squealing off in the parking lot.

"You know, it's kind of really unfair to the rest of the female population of McKinley for this to be happening" Quinn continued, ignoring Rachel's answer "You wanted Finn so badly, and then when he ended it, Jesse came along to sweep you off your feet. None of the rest of us ever had a shot at the new boy because of you"

"Quinn-" Rachel was in no mood to be put in her place by the pregnant former Cheerio

"The thing that I don't get is why you refuse to admit that there is something between you. You had him from Hello. Don't act like you of all people didn't realize the underlying meaning of that song choice Rachel."

Rachel was dumbfounded at the blunt phrasing the blonde had used. Certainly she knew that they had chemistry, but there was no way that Jesse was interested in anything more than a platonic friend relationship with her. He was a dashing senior, the world at his feet, ready to go off to college to become further awesome. What did she have to offer him in terms of a romance that college girls, or even more popular high school ones, couldn't?

The answer escaped her, but if possible, she felt even worse than before. If what Quinn was saying was true, then not only did she just insult her best friend, she insulted as badly as one can insult someone who could very well be her soulmate. She couldn't tell the future of her social life near as well as she could her professional one, but she hoped that she would find someone, a hope that had recently come to replace the Finn shaped hole in her plans. She just didn't know. And she felt like she was going to start crying again.

Quinn apparently sensed this too, and got up slowly to avoid the awkwardness resulting from sitting next to someone who had the relationship that she and Rachel had, not enemies but not friends either.

"If there is one thing I've learned from being a high school cliché Rachel," she said, now heading back to the group onstage "It's that when you really mean something to a guy, they'll stick their neck out for you. Jesse told us at his party how his full ride for school depended on him passing this year and not getting in any disciplinary trouble. Beating Finn up definitely qualifies as something that could have lost him that." And with that she left Rachel alone, wishing she had the insight that the pregnant girl did, and wanting to be near the boy she now felt like she missed more than before.

xxx

He needed to get out of school, out of Lima, out of Ohio.

He sped through the streets, blowing through yellow lights and rolling through stop signs. If he slowed down, he thought of what he was running from. So faster he drove, disregarding all laws of the road.

Pulling up to his house, he took the stairs two at a time to his room, where he promptly pulled a gym bag out of his closet and started stuffing shorts and tee shirts into it. Grabbing his computer, he quickly navigated to the page he needed, pulled out his credit card, and entered the information. Making sure his passport, phone charger, wallet, and keys were all there, he shut his door and went bounding back down the stairs. Throwing his bag into the backseat, he took off for the airport.

Jesse St. James was going home to California.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Rachel awoke from her light slumber, and by the way the sun was completely down and the stars were peeking through the cavernous windows in Jesse's room, she could tell she had been asleep for quite some time._

_Yawning slightly, she stretched as much as she could without disturbing the warm body next to her with its arms encircling her waist, and the slow, rhythmic breathing on her neck signaling it was still firmly asleep. She gently tugged herself out of his arms and began to scoot off the bed towards her bag, long abandoned on the ground next to his closed door._

_"Where are you going?"_

_A sleepy voice halted the stunning young ingenue from leaving the bed and the embrace of the tousle haired senior. Gripping her tighter and pulling her back down, she smiled softly at him and allowed him to entrap her next to him. He nuzzled closer to her, immersing himself in her sweet pea aroma, getting drunk off her presence. _

"_I was going to check my phone" she mumbled, dizzy from the actions of the boy now gently kissing the spot under her ear he had recently discovered_

"_Don't go anywhere ever" He breathed into her neck, planting kisses up and down it, relishing in the soft exhale of pleasure emitting from her golden vocal cords. _

_"I won't" she promised, putting her small hand on his defined cheek and pulling him close to her. "I'll never go where you aren't" she said against his lips, before succumbing to them. Their embrace tightened as their tongues gently brushed each other, taking their time, savoring the close proximity. As Jesse rolled them over so her small body was gently on top of his, he felt small hands working at his shirt buttons, lips still together, but now more frantic in their contact, passion overtaking adoration._

_"Jesse" Rachel moaned into his mouth as he pressed her against him, running his hands down her body, resting on her hips, her back, everywhere he could reach. There was no way, absolutely no way this wasn't heaven..._

"Jesse! You're burning bro! Wake up!"

A soft object came into contact with the side of Jesse's face, and he groaned with frustration at realizing it wasn't the palm of Rachel Berry. He opened his eyes to see a beach ball bouncing back to the sender who was doubled up in laughter.

"You're lucky that I've known you since the formative early teenage years Ant, or else I'd be forced to bitchslap you" Jesse sat up and removed his Ray Bans, blinking with the last vestiges of sleep and the blinding rays of sunshine reflected off the sand around him.

He couldn't smell Rachel anymore, the only thing filling his nose was the salt of the expanse of Pacific ocean in front of him. The massive expanse of the home he longed for before he met the girl. The girl whose sweet perfume was thousands of miles away now...

He got up quickly, knowing that if he didn't move he might start bawling like a girl at the hole he felt had been punched in his stomach at the remembrance of his last conversation with her. His friend stood next to him, bouncing the offending beach ball off the sand and watching him. He knew he was acting bizarre, but he felt like he was losing his mind. He had showed up at Anthony's house at 1 o'clock that morning, and hastily explained that he needed a place to crash for awhile. Anthony, being his best friend on the golden coast, willingly lent his floor on the condition that Jesse explain the reasoning for his completely un-Jesse-like behavior at a more appropriate time. Jesse readily agreed and threw himself onto the floor, and was out cold in 10 minutes.

After a long breakfast (which Anthony had deemed Jesse should pay for as part of his room fee), the unexpected guest had explained everything in painstaking detail. Anthony felt like he had been there the whole time it was such an in depth tale.

Jesse had talked for a full hour, going over everything that had happened in the last few weeks. He spoke of New Directions, how McKinley had accepted him with open arms despite his assimilation into the most unpopular club. He talked about Finn, and how even though he was a sophomore, he had managed to land a few solid punches and lingering bruises on the upperclassman. And he talked about Rachel.

Most of the time was spent going over every moment the two shared, and how Jesse felt like she was too good for him and now that she saw him at his darkest moment, she might have realized that too. Anthony just listened the whole time, every now and again asking a question, but mostly just letting Jesse talk.

"So she was with this finn guy, he dumped her, the first time you met her was when she was covered with a Slurpee, you joined their show choir, she is the other lead, and now you've fallen for her"

"I haven't fallen for her" Jesse mumbled unconvincingly. Anthony laughed in his face

"Jesse, I haven't heard you say something as untrue since you lost that bet to try and convince Angie to tell Director Shellen that doing a Grease/Mamma Mia! mashup was a good idea." Jesse winced.

"I know that its bizarre" he started, swirling his coffee in his mug absentmindedly "but I swear to God, she's as good as what we do as I am"

Anthony raised his eyebrows "I've never heard you admit that anyone but yourself has talent"

Jesse raised his back "Does that convince you that this girl is special? I cant stop obsessing over how she was looking at me. I've always wanted her attention, but not the disappointment that was all over her face" he lowered his head into his hands "I'm screwed" he groaned "I fucked up, I shouldn't have tried to defend her like that, all I wanted was for Finn to understand he had no right to even think about her anymore and now she hates me-"

Anthony smacked the top of his head. Jesse sat up, eyes flashing. He hated people touching his hair.

"Stop whining" his friend started "you did the wrong thing for the right reasons. Just because you showed her in the wrong way doesn't mean that you blew your shot. Just go back and fix it, and do so preferably without showcasing the now nationally infamous St. James temper."

Jesse sat back and considered his friend. Maybe he had a point. But he wasn't going back till at least the end of the weekend. Perhaps the week. He was tired and lacking in sun. He was going to see how he felt after the next few days. Maybe he could figure out how to fix things by Monday with a few hours asleep on the sunny California beaches.

xxx

Rachel was losing her mind. After Jesse and Finn's fight, her and Jesse's fight, and being told what for by Quinn Fabray of all people, Rachel had finally run out of people to blame except for herself. And of course, after deciding that the only acceptable course of action was to find Jesse and apologize for her outburst and finally explain to him how she felt, he was nowhere to be found. She gave him that Friday and the weekend to cool off, and unsurprisingly didn't receive as much as a text throughout Saturday and Sunday.

When Monday rolled in however and he wasn't in Glee, his car wasn't in the parking lot, and nobody as much as asked where he was in Glee (Finn was present and furiously staring at anyone who dared mention any word beginning with the letter J), Rachel approached Mr. Schuester after class and learned that he had been going to ask her the same thing. He had no idea where his new male lead was and regionals were in little more than a month.

Wednesday came and with still no word from him, Rachel decided to find out for herself. Borrowing her fathers car (with their permission of course, she had her learners permit) and headed towards the immense gated community where the St. James mini-mansion was. A single light was on inside the entire place as she pulled up and made her way along the immaculately kept front walk.

As she knocked, she heard it echo cavernously on the other side of the door, the house so devoid of the life that burst from it when Jesse had been there.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

She knocked again, this time hearing someone clattering down the stairs, and then the sound of someone apparently having some difficulty opening the door. Rachel stood bewildered as it finally flew open and revealed someone who could only be a direct relative to the boy she was calling on. The woman had the high, almost sculpted cheekbones Jesse had, the beautiful blue eyes and the wavy hair that had turned to slight curls on him. Rachel had never met her, never seen a picture of her, but was certain when she spoke in the same condescending voice Jesse occasionally had that this was no other than Mama St. James.

"Yes?" the woman asked when Rachel was quickly reeling from the similarities and apparently dumbstruck to be meeting her.

"Hello!" Rachel quickly snapped into her showface demeanor, pasting the toothy smile on and positively radiating charisma. "My name is Rachel Berry, I'm in glee club with Jesse and I was hoping I could speak with him."

"You're in what?" the woman asked after sipping from the amber liquid filled glass in her hand. In the light of the overly large porch light, her wedding ring almost blinded Rachel with its absurd size.

"Glee club," the diva repeated, growing apprehensive of her new acquiescence "the show choir at McKinley High, Jesse's school"

"Oh so thats where those phone calls have been coming from" Mrs. St. James said unconcernedly "apparently he has been absent for a few days now" Rachel's showface slipped.

"You were aware he hasn't been attending any of his classes?"

"I knew apparently someone was missing him, we've been getting calls about it at least twice a day by someone who calls herself Irma Pillsbury or something pastry related-"

"Why haven't you made him go?" Rachel demanded, cutting the woman off. Mrs. St. James raised her eyebrows at the tone the diva took.

Rachel saw where Jesse got his attitude with people he considered irritating. "Well, Ms. Berry, I can't very well make him go to class in Ohio if he is in California, now can I?"

Rachel froze, her mouth open, stunned at the woman's words. _He's in California. He left._

"Why is he in California?" she blurted, all tact gone at this point "how could you allow him to leave in the middle of the school year?"

"Because, young lady, it is hard to stop someone from leaving when all you get is an email from them stating that they have already landed and will call if they need us to send the rest of their belongings to him" she snarled, all pretense of patience with Rachel gone.

"Unbelievable." the young girl said, staring incredulously at the woman who was so similar in appearance to her son, but who had either by the neglect or by the drink she was holding in her hands had made her own son so disconnected by his family that he _emailed _them to inform them that he was going to the other side of the country.

"You aren't worried at all, are you?" she said, taking a step back from the woman, incredulity all over her features "you wonder why he emailed you? Besides the fact that you didn't even know what school he attends, you don't even know what he does with his spare time, and who he even strives to be completely escapes you" Rachel was almost yelling, channeling her anger at Jesse for leaving to California without telling her, anger at this woman who had fulfilled the awful picture Rachel had conjured in her mind of her, and anger at herself for failing to understand until this very moment why exactly Jesse had gone ballistic on Finn. He had figured out that someone finally gave an honest damn about him and had been able to throw himself completely into defending her because he finally had someone who was important enough for him to risk his future education on.

"You should be ashamed of yourself" Rachel said, turning her back on the woman and walking purposefully back to her fathers car. "because when he is gone, you'll realize exactly how much he means. And that is a lot to lose."

That person who Jesse had found was the girl who stood on his porch, yelling at his mother, and _finally_ comprehending her relationship with the boy.

xxx

At the end of the week, Jesse had still not returned. Glee had been quieter without him, despite Mr. Schuester's efforts to continue practice as normal. With the male lead awol in California, Finn had been assigned his parts in rehearsal. It honestly didn't seem like it could be more uncomfortable if it had been designed to be. Singing with Finn was almost a foreign concept, something uncomfortable and _ just wrong_ to Rachel now. The song choice, the choreography that focused heavily on the two leads emotional ability, all of the points that made Jesse and Rachel's rendition of it magical now made Finn and Rachel's version a liability. The feeling simply wasn't there. And everyone knew it, but there was nothing to be done.

As they moved through the motions, Rachel felt herself resenting the song choice. It wasn't her best rehearsal, she knew it, and although she was nailing her parts of it, singing to Finn (more acting, really) was absurdly awkward.

As she stood on the stage, hands grasped lightly in both of Finn's large and calloused ones in the (usually) most intimate part of the opening number, Mr. Schuester was once again exclaiming that they needed more interest in the song. Rachel, feigning attention to Mr. Schuester's rant, watched in her peripherals as Finn sidled closer to her. All week he had been trying to engage her in conversation, to apologize for what had happened, trying to explain away what his reasoning was behind his assault on Jesse, same old sob song. While she previously had a brief discussion with him and accepted his apology in spite of her feelings for Jesse, Rachel wasn't ready to throw herself into another friendship with Finn. But of course, he couldn't understand that. so as Mr. Schuester was going on and on about the_ importance_ of continuity and camaraderie within the group, Finn was now attempting a joke with Rachel.

"Think if he yells at us some more we might get better?" he offered, half a smile on his face. Rachel shrugged noncommittally, and continued to focus on Mr. Schuester. She felt Finn's frustration, and for a brief second she was the Rachel Berry of what felt like years ago in that bowling ally, kissing Finn hard, quitting the lead role in the play to make him smile at her. The Rachel who actually dropped what she dreamed of to please the boy who broke her heart the next day. Who kept breaking it. Who turned her into the strong Rachel she was now, who would _not_ let herself be pulled in by his games anymore.

She pulled her hands from his and crossed her arms. "What is your problem?" Finn hissed at her, obviously angry at her lack of enthusiasm. She shot him a look that was clearly warning him of the impending danger if he didn't shut up.

"Alright guys, take five." Mr. Schuester said as Finn opened his mouth to continue arguing with her. She grabbed him and pulled him off the stage to the suspicious looks of the rest of the club behind them.

"Finn, I apparently need to clarify something for you" she said, enunciating clearly in hopes that maybe if she spoke with enough clarification he would get it "I'm just now starting to be okay with being friends with you. Don't expect me to throw myself into whatever it is that you expect from me. Baby steps are the only thing that I'm willing to participate in now when it comes to our relationship."

"What the hell Rachel, I said I was sorry!" Finn roughly palmed his hand through his hair with frustration "What more do you want?"

"I want to be able to be in the same room with you and not feel like I either have to be with you or not look at you in shame and regret Finn!" Rachel's whisper was high pitched, tired of the drama that hung around Finn like his constant moods. He looked at her with exasperation

"How am I supposed to fix us if you won't let me?" Rachel involuntarily took a step back at his word choice

"There is no 'us', Finn. There is you, there is me, and there is the tentative reformative friendship, but there is no 'us' anymore."

A silence rang between them. For the first time in their tumultuous relationship, Rachel was the one turning Finn down. A tangible shift was felt in the air between them. In those few words, the dynamic between the two changed instantly.

"What if I want there to be an us," Finn began slowly, moving closer to Rachel, eyes on hers "what if I realized what a mistake I made, letting you go. What if I told you that all I want now is for us to be a real couple Rachel. Like you said you always wanted."

Rachel's head was spinning again, and before she had time to react, to answer Finn with the no, never again!her head was yelling at him, he was kissing her.

She heard the eavesdropping club behind her gasp, and she would have laughed if she hadn't had her lips commandeered by Finn's. For another second she was old Rachel, desperately wanting this to happen, but something was still off. An unpeggable, unidentifiable sensation that this was just like the song, it just shouldn't be happening. And then, as Jesse's face popped into her mind, she remembered why.

With her mind finally clear, her old feelings for Finn completely and finally vanquished and replaced by those of Jesse St. James, Rachel Berry pulled away from him. Putting her hand on his cheek, she whispered "I'm sorry Finn, but you don't get to make up my mind for me anymore." and turned on her heel, marching away from him and to Mr. Schuester to discuss rehearsing the second number for now.

xxx

Jesse spent most of the next week alone on the beach with his headphones in and sunglasses firmly on, covering his now sensitive Ohio-weather conditioned eyes from the endless sun. Anthony had school (as Jesse technically did) and so the days seemed longer without him to vent to. He had seen a few of his old friends, but felt rather indifferent about saying goodbye again where they were all tears and tight hugs when he said he had to leave. He attributed this out loud to Anthony as shock of seeing everyone, but he knew what was really going on.

None of them were Rachel Berry. So in order to avoid physical reminders of his unresolved predicament, he had retreated to the beach.

_You're being pathetic_ he thought angrily _Ant's right. I couldn't spit it out because I dont want to ruin what you give me. So I pulled a mom and dad and bailed._

He whipped out his phone and began typing a message to her _I'm so sorry Rachel, I-_ He grappled with himself, hands frozen over the iPhone's screen. His music pounded in his headphones and he switched off his phone suddenly. _Really? A text message? Might as well email her how you feel idiot_, i_t has all the sentimentality of a text and none of the AT&T charge._

He threw the phone down on the towel next to him, disgusted with the lack of control he was showing. What had happened to the old Jesse St. James, the continuously confident and tunnel-visioned young man? He had turned into this, this kid, who fled across the country to hide from a girl. A young, beautiful, immensely talented woman who saw who he really was. As if God was playing DJ with his iPod, Jack's Mannequin's "Lonely for Her" came on, and Jesse groaned. He knew what he had to do, he had a sinking suspicion that he had always known what to do, but that it had taken a week of being away from her to clearly understand what that was.

He stood and made his way back to Anthony's mothers car he had borrowed. Getting in, he felt a similar sense of deja vu as he sped away from the sand and cresting waves behind him. But this time, instead of fleeing from the girl, he was headed towards her. He was going back to Ohio to make things right.

xxx

Jesse's plane landed almost exactly at midnight, and he exited it feeling as if he was still on California time, not tired at all.

The airport was almost deserted, and since there was no chance in hell his parents would have come to meet him, he went immediately to the luggage claiming area to wait for his single bag they refused to let him carry on.

As he walked through the scarcely inhabited building, he turned on his phone. A voicemail was waiting for him from Anthony, informing him that he owed him another breakfast for gathering every single beach ball Anthony owned (he had a surprisingly large amount of them), popping them, and putting them all on his friends bed, with a note that had a big "Love, Jesse St. James" written on it, with a smiley face for good measure. Jesse laughed and deleted it, and saw that he had a text from Santana Lopez that had arrived earlier that day. This girl was hot, but kind of insane. And she really liked sending Jesse filthy text messages that he immediately deleted for fear of someone thinking that he actually liked that stuff. But this one was more disturbing than the rest. It was a fuzzy picture with some text at the bottom of the screen reading _whenever you get over her, Brit and I are waiting for ya ;)_. The picture was of two people, one of whom looked like Finn, and the other of whom Jesse couldn't really see the face of at first glance.

As he arrived at the luggage carousel and was able to stop walking and completely devote his attention to the device, he toyed with some of the settings on his iPhone and sharpened the resolution of the message photo. He could now clearly see that it was indeed Finn, kissing someone who looked a lot like Rachel.

Jesse could feel himself begin to sweat.

He fiddled frantically with the phone again, and zoomed into the picture. It was a lopsided picture, obviously taken quickly, but it was clear none the less.

Finn was kissing none other than Rachel Berry.

Jesse turned of his phone. As his bag came around the track to rest right in front of him, he grabbed it automatically and began walking furiously towards the lot where his car had been left a few days earlier. He was making a detour before he stopped at home. It was going to be this stop that decided whether or not this trip back to Ohio would be only for a few hours before Anthony could collect on the breakfast he was owed by the curly haired senior.

xxx

Rachel's night had been uneventful. She had turned her phone off, which she suspected as the main reason it was such a quiet evening. Between the 15 (at last count) voicemails from Finn and about ten texts apiece from Kurt and Mercedes asking if this meant her and Finn were back together, her phone had gotten quite a workout, and was now turned off on her bedside table.

Settling back into her bed, she began typing up ideas she had for potential future routines, assuming all went as it should. She didn't hear the boy pull up. She did hear the banging on the front door and the shout of her name, and quickly ran downstairs, hoping against hope that this wasn't a bad situation she was walking into.

xxx

Jesse slammed his car door and thundered up the stairs of the front porch of Rachel's darkened house, unaware of the light rain beginning to sprinkle down. He began to bang on the front door, yelling her name, uncaring that it was 1:30 in the morning.

The porch light came on and her front door flew open, the same fire in her eyes that was igniting his.

"What the hell are you thinking Jesse?" she hissed, closing the door behind her and pushing him and her off the porch and back to beside his car in the driveway in the drizzle "My dads are asleep inside-"

"Is it true?" Jesse demanded, looking right at her, his eyes accented by his heightened emotions and bluer than she had ever seen.

"Is what true?" she shot back, hands on her hips and refusing to back down "And nice to see you, by the way. Next time you decide to skip a week of school, rehearsals, and sectionals set list planning, giving the other lead some advance warning would be helpful"

"Don't try to turn this on me Rachel, you were the one who demanded that I go somewhere and learn how to control my temper" He spat out, disgust evident on his face as he recalled her words.

"Fighting with someone is the most uncivilized way of handling a problem, and fighting with a member of the same team is unacceptable. You both could have been injured and unable to compete! Don't you ever think about the consequences of your actions-"

"He swung at me first Rachel!" Jesse bellowed, throwing his hands angrily in the damp air "Over something that isn't even happening!"

Rachel's eyes narrowed at him even more, stung by his words.

"I'm not doing this with you Jesse. Why are you here" she challenged him, her arms firmly crossed, rain dropping into her hair and settling softly on top of it.

"I just landed. I got an interesting text from Santana." he started, his gaze unwavering from hers, trying to measure her reaction. "She sent me a picture of you and Finn. You were kissing him in rehearsal" He said, choking on the final words a bit.

She paused briefly, then decided to push. She wanted to see just how far this could go. "Why would that even matter to you Jesse, you don't seem to think that being someones best friend qualifies them to know that you're taking off to California for a week" she said, not caring that his resolve to be angry with her was breaking more with every second he was standing so close to her. His face went rigid.

"Why would that matter?" he repeated, his voice low. "Why would it matter that you were back with someone who made you feel so badly about yourself that you actually began to act differently?" he was trying to control himself very hard now, all his effort going into keeping his voice even.

"Yes. Why does it matter Jesse." it was more of a dare than a question. Their eyes were drilling holes into each others, sharp blue at soft brown. He sighed suddenly, and ran a hand through his hair which seemed to have been victim of many rough handthroughs this evening by the way it was tousled.

"I love that I have enough talent to escape from here" he started, ignoring answering her directly "I love that it's been enough to keep me focused on my future to forget that my parents really didn't want a relationship with me" he was speaking quickly, he seemed to be shaking a bit, and his pupils were dilated. Rachel was getting freaked out by his behavior. The passionate, shouting Jesse of a moment ago was gone, replaced instead by this one who was speaking like he had been bottling up these words for a good long while. 

"I love that I know I'll make it. I'm sure of it. I've gone on that knowledge for years, it being in stead of relationships and memories I wanted and never chased. They are all I craved, all I knew, and the only things I put my faith into. But now, the only thing I know more is that I've never loved anything like I love you."

Rachel Berry, unable to say her line, unable to think what her next move was supposed to be, froze. Her acting skills never prepared her for a role as tumultuous as the one that her reality had cast her in. She didn't dare believe that this boy who had swept into her life, filling the hole that Finn Hudson had burned into her heart, the one who was all confidence and bravado, the one who simultaneously made her want to bang her head against a wall and kiss him, was here saying that he loved her.

Things like this happened in movies, plays, the occasional music video. Scripted. Guaranteed happy endings. Not in Lima Ohio. Not at two o'clock in the morning. Not in the gentle drizzle falling around them. Well, that was kind of cinematic. But the rest of it? Straight out of the lines of a well written character.

She stood there, staring at him standing in front of her, his hair curling a bit in the damp, the oh-so-trademark Jesse St. James black tee shirt and jacket he was wearing sticking to him with wet, his state of mind finally completely open to her.

"I'm not with Finn" she said breathlessly, to appease the voice in her head yelling at her to get that bit of information out ASAP. He didn't move, but inwardly sighed with relief. She wasn't with him._ Jesus, I never thought he'd hear such beautiful words said about that son of a bitch_

"Are you sure?" she continued, her face disguised of anything she was thinking

"Am I sure what?" Jesse asked bewildered _This isn't what it should be _he thought frantically_ this should have been epic, should have swept her off her feet_

"That you, that you feel that way," she stumbled a bit on her words, finally letting the nervousness that was coursing through her show. The possible effectuation of what his recent declaration could mean was intoxicating to her. But she wanted assurance before she let herself go under the influence of it. When Rachel fell, she fell hard, and Jesse was so important to her now that she didn't want to jump and fall without him being there to catch her.

He didn't answer, but instead reached both hands to cup her face. He said simply, "Yes" and he kissed her.

It wasn't demanding like Noah. It wasn't one sided like with Finn. It was passionate and reciprocated and full of want. It was the kind of kiss she wanted Jesse St. James to have in him, and he came through for her. Her hands lightly grasped his forearms as his remained in place, neither of them caring that it was the middle of the night, that they were in Lima Ohio where this kind of stuff could fuel the neighborhood gossips for weeks. All they saw was each other. That part was the same, but everything else was brand new. His lips on hers, her hands gripping his arms, the shared breathlessness they both were experiencing, it was perfect. Rachel Berry expectation perfect.

As Jesse pulled back to seemingly gauge her reaction, she remained still with her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of having throughly been kissed. As she opened hers to meet his waiting ones, she smiled, and leaned back in to reclaim his lips with her own, feeling at peace with the boy she had been scared wouldn't come back to her safely in her embrace.

**A/N: So I thought on having them say the L word later , like any normal couple would likely wait, but then I remembered that this is Jesse St. James and Rachel Berry we're talking about here. The canon had Rachel declaring she loved him the very first episode we met him, so I don't think I'm rushing it. Anyways, someone want to throw in an idea or two about possible stuff you'd like to see in the next few? I'd love to have some subplots running about as well. Sophomore year of college begins tomorrow for me, so updates will be only once a week from here on out. As always, please feel free to review and let me know what you thought! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rachel stepped out of her house the next day, still feeling tingly about the previous nights events. They had remained together until the sun was starting to rise, sitting on her porch and talking over every misunderstanding and miscommunication between them that had led them to that moment. Of course, this took longer due to the gentle kisses and accompanying breathlessness punctuating their conversation, of which neither seemed to mind. Rachel could not get enough of the words he was saying to her, the way he was looking at her. She hadn't said it back to him, but they both knew that she reciprocated his earlier declaration. It was all over her face.

After Jesse had left her with a promise to see her tomorrow at school, she went back into her room and immediately began silently screaming with utter joy. This was followed by a quick descent into her ever soft bed and pillow, for a sleep that was interrupted a mere few hours later by her alarm going off. As she groaned with exhaust en, all the previous nights events came flooding back to her, along with Jesse's vow to see her first thing at school, and filled Rachel with her usual amount of spunk that roused her quickly from her bed and into her morning routine.

Kissing Hiram goodbye and bounding out in front of Leroy for the ride to school, her face broke again into the smile she now associated with the presence of a certain senior, who was currently leaning against his Land Rover, two to-go cups of steaming Starbucks tea in his hands and a smile to mirror her own.

"Good morning" he said quietly as she met him in the middle of the drive. She didn't bother to reciprocate, instead choosing to pull him to her in a passionate kiss, so different from the ones the previous night. A cough sounded from behind them, and Rachel pulled back as suddenly as she had gone for it. Jesse's eyes opened to find themselves meeting Leroy Berry's, whose eyebrows were raised so high they threatened to meet his hairline.

"Good morning to you too Jesse" Rachel said, in an attempt to stave off the instinctual father response.

"Mr. Berry, nice to see you again sir," Jesse quickly followed up, taking his girlfriends lead.

"Same to you Jesse" Leroy Berry said, bemused by their attempts to look as if they were not the insanely PDA prone teenagers that they were.

"I was hoping it would be alright with you and Mr. Berry if I took Rachel to school this morning" Jesse said, gesturing to the cups placed hastily on his hood to catch Rachel when she had flown at him. Rachel beamed at her father, nonverbally begging him to say yes. He looked from his daughter to Jesse and then back again. And smiled.

"I see no problem with that," Rachel bounded over and hugged him before going back over to Jesse's car.

"I'll get her there safe, no worries" Jesse told the older man as he opened the door for Rachel.

"You better" Leroy responded menacingly, but with a wink. He couldn't not play the role of overprotective father, but he trusted Jesse. Rachel talked about him all the time when they were ever separated, and seeing someone make his baby girl so happy made his and Hiram's hearts instantly accept whoever was responsible.

Their whole lives had changed when Rachel came along, and she was the only thing that mattered to them. The way Jesse was looking at her made him realize that he was in the same boat as the Mister's Berry were: In complete adoration of the young starlet, and Leroy wasn't going to be responsible for anything that could upset their obvious romance. He waved goodbye and watched as they drove away, Rachel in the front seat and smiling the brightest smile he'd seen on her in a while.

xxx

"I thought we were going to talk" Jesse mumbled against the insistent lips of the diva, apparently not minding the replacement activity very much.

"I assure you there will be plenty of time for talking later on when we're surrounded by people and I'm unable to assault you like this" Rachel said, running her words together to get the sentence out faster and get back to making out with her new boyfriend.

Jesse laughed and pulled her closer. He felt a flutter of the old thrill of kissing someone passionately in his car in the parking lot of school, a long lost feeling of youth often swept away under the premise of being the mature young man he was supposed to be. The mature young man he was, when he wasn't all over Rachel before the school day had even begun. _Concessions can be made for special occasions_ he thought, smiling into the kiss _our first official day as a couple certainly qualifies as a special occasion_

The bell rang behind them, and Jesse groaned as the inner attendance stickler in Rachel pulled her away from him and began gathering the backpack long discarded in their efforts to minimize the space between them as soon as possible.

"So how are we going to handle this" Jesse asked as he grabbed his own bag from out of the backseat and got out of the car. "I don't think Finn will take very kindly to us making out in front of him in glee."

"Jesse!" Rachel squealed, turning bright red at his candid phrasing of it "We're not going to be making out in front of anyone, especially not in glee and especially not in front of Finn. You just got back, I don't want you to take off again because of his reaction"

Jesse smirked at the thought of the younger boys face upon seeing Rachel with Jesse. For a moment he was almost overcome by a strong urge to do it just to see what Finn's exact reaction would be. The thought made a smile begin to creep onto his face

"Come on Rach, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Right next to my desire to stay in Lima for the rest of my life" she deadpanned at him "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take it well" Rachel said thoughtfully, biting her lower lip in thought "maybe we should hold back on letting anyone know..."

"What!" Jesse yelled, causing a group of passing Cheerios to look at him in apparent scandalization. Rachel joined them with her own confused face. Jesse stopped their path into the school and put his arms around Rachel's waist

"There is absolutely no way I will ever consent to hiding the fact that you are now my girlfriend Rachel."

"I appreciate that Jesse but maybe for a few-"

"No."

"-days we can just put feelers out to see how most of them-"

"No."

"It's astonishing how irritating you can be when you do that Jesse" Rachel said, obviously frustrated "I am only attempting to prevent any more chances for Finn to try to bait you"

Jesse felt immediately bad for overriding her thought process. "I'm sorry Rach" he said, leaning his forehead down to reach hers "I just want to be able to do this whenever I want to" he said nodding towards their embrace "after weeks of being a little bitch about how I felt, now all I want is to hold onto you all day, possibly kiss you at the same time, just because I can now."

Rachel smiled up at his bluntly honest answer "I understand, but I believe that if we slowly become open about our relationship, they'll react better than if we threw ourselves into the deep end per say."

Jesse knew she was right. He hated to admit defeat on this topic in particular, but it was true. No telling how poorly Finn and the rest of the gossip mongers would react if Jesse and Rachel proceeded like he wanted to. He sighed in defeat.

"I know it isn't the most desirable path, but it'll be better in the long run" Rachel said, her hand lifting Jesses face to look her in the eye. He felt her chest against his and smiled as he realized the tattoo against his torso was her heart, beating almost in time with his. God I cant believe how much of a softie shes turned me into he thought, feeling completely at peace with this less than 24 hours of dating and I'm a sucker for a smile and completely whipped._ But really, its not like anyone can blame me. Honestly, she's perfect_

"How about a compromise" she stated, breaking into his reverie "we can act as disgustingly adorable everywhere except for glee, that way-"

"Deal" he said quickly before she could change her mind.

"Thats it?" she questioned suspiciously "I half expected a debate, or at least less enthusiasm"

"No way. I get to kiss you anytime between first and fifth period with no risk of getting in trouble with you, how would I not be okay with that? And as for the other hour and in rehearsal I get to tease you with my amazing vocal abilities until you throw yourself at me. I'm in love with this compromise. Or you. Maybe both. Whatever. Im completely okay with this" He punctuated the last sentence by kissing her to seal the deal.

The bell rang above them and she reluctantly pulled back. "No making me late for class though" she warned as he tried to pull her back to his lips

"Never" he mumbled, walking backwards into the school, still firmly attached to her "what kind of guy would I be if I tried to make you miss class?"

"A very Jesse St. James 'make my own rules' kind of guy" she quickly shot back making him laugh.

"Fine then" he said and instead put an arm around her as they made their way inside. "but dont expect to be there every day on time. I have a reputation as my own schedule maker to consider, and you happen to distract me."

"Its not my fault!"

"Of course not. You're unintentionally adorable. Common ailment for beautiful girls."

"And you're unintentionally a charmer"

"Nah thats on purpose" he said winking at her as they arrived at her class door "miss me darling" he said, laying a chaste kiss on her hand, overly dramatic on all fronts. She rolled her eyes and slipped in, feeling like she had finally arrived where she always wanted to be, all thanks to the bravado and

showboating of the senior who winked at her again as she slipped through the door.

xxx

Jesse practically skipped away from the room where he had left Rachel. He hadn't mentioned that he had dropped his first period, because he knew she would refuse a ride from him if he didn't have to be there as early as she did for her sophomore schedule. He fully intended to use this time on productive measures (such as napping in the car until his classes actually began in second period) but today he had a mission to accomplish.

Bounding past the administration offices he had to hit up later in order to clear up that little week of absences, he took the stairs two at a time. Reaching the top and arriving in the foreign languages wing, he slowed as Mr. Schuester's door got closer. Making sure the room was empty of students, Jesse knocked and waited for the "Come in!" from the Spanish teacher bent over some papers on his desk.

Stepping in, Jesse waited for the man to look up before taking a seat.

"Hey Jesse!" Mr. Schuester said with surprise all over his face "Come on in, take a seat"

"Thanks" the senior said, settling into the chair closest to Mr. Schue's desk. "I feel like I owe you an apology Mr. Schuester" Jesse began "Leaving for a week without telling you was rash, unprofessional, and juvenile. I do believe it was necessary, but I should have had the decency to tell you that I would be gone, at least so you could plan ahead for rehearsal."

"I appreciate that Jesse. Where did you end up?"

"I went home. To California. I stayed with my best friend, but spent most of my time on the beach feeling bad about being there."

Mr. Schue leaned back in his chair as Jesse spoke. "Did you at least get things worked out?" Even though he wasn't explicit in his meaning, they both knew what he was really asking about. _Rachel_

Jesse thought carefully before he answered. He could easily tell the choir director that he and Rachel had worked out their friendship problems and would no longer be the root of any issues, but that would require more and more lies as the year carried on, and they would never stop if they kept this up. He really should have talked to Rachel about this potential issue. She knew the director so much better than he did, and would know exactly how to address this. But right now, he was solo and had to make a decision.

"Rachel and I are together" he began slowly, choosing his verbiage carefully "but it is very, very new and we would like to keep it as little of an issue for New Directions as possible. So if you could not address it, I would greatly appreciate it." Mr. Schue nodded. The older man had seen, on several occasions as a matter of fact, what drama could be had due to the volatile teenage feelings running amok in McKinley and in New Directions.

"When you and Rachel decide to tell the club, that is when they'll know, I give you my word they won't be hearing it from me." Jesse exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he was holding "As for regionals, a week missing practice will unlikely have hampered your abilities. I am having you stay in your spot for the opening number. I can't wait to see you and Rachel knock those judges socks off together." Will smiled as the grin now gracing the seniors face was so familiar to his own when he got solos during his tenure in glee. It was nice to see this side of the young man, so different from the other kids but constantly reminding Will of himself. It was one of the more rewarding aspects of teaching, and Will lived for moments like this.

Jesse, now satisfied that his mission was accomplished, stood and shook Mr. Schuester's hand and thanked him. With a promise to see him later that day, he jogged down the stairs as the bell rang, anxious to tell Rachel all that had happened.

xxx

Later that day, Jesse sat huddled over his notes, scribbling the last part of the lecture as the rest of the class noisily departed. He didn't notice as a small, beaming sophomore slipped in and silently made her way up behind his sitting figure. Slipping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss to his cheek, she giggled as he jumped slightly and then relaxed as he realized who it was.

"Well hello Ms. Berry" he said, tracing his fingers along her hooked arm. He turned slightly and allowed her to sit in the chair next to him.

"Hello Mr. St. James" she said back to him, still holding onto his hands. "You're awfully cute when you study, just so you know" Jesse was mortified to find that a heat associated with the unfamiliar feeling of bashfulness was creeping up his face. He automatically felt a showface snap into motion.

"I know" he sighed, faux conceitedly "it's a terrible price for the world to pay. To have me be cute, smart, and talented? It just _isn't_ fair to everyone else." Rachel slapped at his arm and allowed him to pull her into a kiss, smiling into his lips and mirroring his expression.

"How was the rest of your day?" he asked after reluctantly heeding the need for oxygen. They had spent a lunch together off campus that Rachel had been astonished to discover she could take advantage of, and hadn't seen each other since.

"Wonderful" Rachel responded "we discussed the character of Ophelia in Lit class, and whether or not she was a misunderstood heroic figure or simply a weak idiot."

"And what was the outcome?"

"After explaining the role that she played, the struggles she felt to please both father, brother, and lover, I proved that she was anything but an idiot. Kurt and I actually agreed on something for once. It was stunning."

Jesse laughed as he gathered his things and followed his girl out of the class. Putting an arm around her, they walked slowly towards the choir room for practice.

"You sure you're going to be okay with this premise of just friends?" Rachel asked, looking closely at his reaction. He nodded unconcernedly.

"Mr. Schuester already knows, and he really is the only one who can actually claim to have a legitimate need-to-know argument" She still looked unsettled. By this time they had made it to the last corner before the hall where the door was to the choir room. They stopped to finish their conversation in the semi-privacy of the hall. Rachel looked nervous as she spotted Finn shuffling past, too occupied by Santana and Brittany to notice the couple.

"Hey, hey, look at me" Jesse said as he pulled her into his arms, lacing his fingers together on the small of her back. She met his gaze and he smiled down at her. "No matter what Finn does, I'm not going anywhere. I know I can say that until I'm blue in the face and you might not be one hundred percent believing of it, but I'm going to prove it to you." he seemed to be speaking more to himself than her at this point, and she caught how he was speaking in a lower voice, with a sort of quiet determination underneath the words. "I'm going to stick around for you Rach. I swear it."

She let her hand graze over his cheek and leaned up on her tiptoes to softly kiss him, letting the fact that they were so close to a roomful of gossips fall from her mind as the thought of Jesse and only Jesse filled her thoughts. Never had she expected to actually find someone who would say these things to her, make her feel as if she was being written into some television show or movie script. She adored the feeling, but she adored the boy making her experience those feelings even more. And she tried to pour it into that kiss, tried to let him know that.

As she sank back to her feet, the look on his face told her that he understood. _I can get used to this being loved arrangement_ she thought as he hugged her tightly. Letting her go, he smiled his megawatt showface smile at her and planted one last kiss on her lips before releasing his hand from hers and following her into the choir room, ready to pretend that he wasn't madly in love with the girl he was following behind.

xxx

**A/N: I admit it: this was fluff. I couldn't handle another chapter lacking in fun sweet St. Berry love anymore, so I overdosed on it in this one. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Anyways, the diva and the senior are now together, its a secret to everyone else, regionals are coming up, and that means more drama! Woo! Thanks to saarele for the subplot idea, you'll be seeing that in chapter 10! please review and let me know what you think! Much love! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi guys. Sorry for the delay, there was a death in the family that needed my attention away from my daydreaming and brainstorming for St. Berry. I tried to make this longer than usual to make up for the lateness in posting this. Please review and let me know what you think. Much love.**

To say Jesse had experienced difficulty in glee over the next few days would have won understatement of the year.

Having to idly stand by as the rest of the club laughed and joked with each other, the senior sat resentful of his deal with his girlfriend. Everything she did, the adorable facial expression she got whilst animatedly discussing the choreography with Mr. Schuester, the high notes she hit effortlessly, and every twirl of the criminally sexy skirts she perpetually wore, Jesse couldn't deny that it kind of got him all hot and bothered. He attributed this particular wanting of Rachel specifically to the fact that in glee he couldn't hold her close to him and tell her how beautiful she was. Sure he could do that anywhere else, basically at any other time, but seeing Finn looking at her like his heart was broken made Jesse furious and wanted to let the younger boy that he had filled the space in Rachel's life, and had no intention of letting her get away. But he respected Rachel's and his agreement and went through the motions for the short (but _so long!_) periods of time where he couldn't let the world know that he was with this amazing person.

But luckily, the next weeks passed in a blur. Rehearsals, dates with Rachel, and schoolwork occupied Jesse completely. His darling girlfriend was what he preferred to think about, but his teachers had all simultaneously decided to increase his workload by an obscene amount, and so more often than not weeknights found him on Rachel's floor, diligently completing his work as opposed to kissing her. Not that he didn't take frequent breaks specifically to that, but still.

With regionals coming up, she was a wreck. Paranoia about their competition, a group called Vocal Adrenaline drove her to throw herself completely into the routine with a conviction Mr. Schuester himself didn't even have. With Rachel obsessing over the steps, Mr. Schue found more time to perfect the vocals, and had decided that the second number needed to be run through in a different manner. The lead vocals had been split up between the whole group, and so while he and Rachel started and ended it, there were going to be three other couples (Santana and Puck, Quinn and Kurt, and Mercedes and Finn) who would come in and fill out the middle verses and choruses. Jesse wasn't happy about it, but he understood the teachers thinking. The way they would beat the opposing teams was by sticking out from the pack. And by having several entwining duets resoundingly covering one of the best loved songs of all time was a hell of a way to do it.

Rachel was of the same opinion, which Jesse knew due to the nervous habit she had picked up in which she was starting to manically repeat herself about the routine on their now daily drives home from practice. He was torn between thinking it was cute and being annoyed, but it was her way of handling the stress, away from her elliptical that was.

Apart from the secrecy they charaded in glee, they were absolutely thriving as a full fledged couple. They had their own little schedule (he picked up tea on Mondays and Wednesdays, she made it on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they splurged and went to breakfast together early on Fridays before class), creating theme Friday night movie dates, and he was quickly becoming the darling of her fathers.

It had surprised him how they had accepted him into their little family, but an outsider would have sworn that they had been dating for years by the way her dads doted on him. A father figure (_figures_, in Rachel's dads cases) was something so new to Jesse, that he found himself even hanging out with them on saturdays when Rachel had her ballet classes. The three men had discovered they all had an affinity for poker, and so Rachel had more than once been dropped off to the sight of the most important guys in her life involved in intense games of Texas Hold 'Em and had been able to say hello, go over every single new motion she learned, eat lunch, go upstairs and shower, get completely ready just to come back downstairs to find them _still_ going at it. It was humorous to her, and she realized why it was important for Jesse, so she let the boys have their fun as she flitted around giving support to each of them equally.

Things at Jesse's house had been worse since he had gotten home from his little trip. Where Rachel had been welcoming back in the best way, his parents actually seemed to be even worse than they had been before which was saying a LOT. When he came home that first night after visiting Rachel, he found his mother awake and making coffee, obviously just getting up. She had no fucking idea where his father was (_like father like son _he thought ironically) and so had chosen Jesse's sudden reappearance as the catalyst to begin yelling.

As he always had, Jesse stood there like a man and took it, giving his mother the respect she demanded but had not earned. Rachel, he learned appreciatively, had shown up at his house a few days before and given his mother a talking to, telling her that she didn't deserve him as a son. He had more reenforcement that he truly did love her, because she had remembered his darkest confession of feeling unworthy from the day they had practiced together for the glee duet that brought them together.

After his mother finished, he simply nodded at her, bade her good night, and went to bed thinking of his girl. After that, his father showed up a few days later and had taken to reiterating what his mother had said about that "short, loud girl" and how Jesse should not be talking about his home life to others. "bury those thoughts as soon as they arrive in your damn fool head!" he had yelled, but as they kept repeating their spiel, Jesse found himself drifting back to the varied conversations he had with the misters Berry about this very subject, and how they encouraged him to keep his head away from their poison thoughts. He found in Rachel not only a girlfriend he was crazy about, but also a set of parents that had taken to him more in the month he and Rachel had been dating than his biological parents had in 18 years.

It was needless to say that Jesse felt a sense of content in his present situation, and it was all due to the girl he went out on a limb for.

xxx

About a week before regionals, Mr. Schue was in front of the class during lecture period and drabbling on about keeping the rehearsal tight that day (stunningly, Finn had been messing up lately and this was Mr. Schue's way of telling him to get it together), Jesse's mind wandered to the last passing period he and Rachel had made use of nonverbally express their feelings by the stairwell in the Senior class wing. A smirk on his face at being so openly secretive of their relationship, Rachel blushed as she noticed him looking at her and realized what he was thinking about. He winked at her and let his his gaze drift, and with a slight start noticed Santana and Brittany staring at him.

Considering that his interaction with the cheerleaders had been next to nil, he was kind of creeped out. They were staring at him like he was a piece of meat. He instantly knew why girls complained about being hit on.

This was super, _super_ uncomfortable.

Quickly averting his eyes to the teacher again, he tried very hard to be interested in what he was saying, but couldn't shake the feeling of the two pairs of eyes on him. It didn't help that he couldn't grab Rachel's hand as his demanding him to and flaunt that he was taken. And after the teacher had finished, Rachel darted out of her seat to go over some technicality or another. Jesse couldn't help but watch her go with wide eyes, semi-fearful of being left alone in the seats by the Cheerios. He wanted to call out to her to wait up, but he also didn't want to look like a needy "friend" in front of the rest of the club now making their way to the auditorium. So instead he got up and made to break to the restroom, but before he could, they had surrounded him.

"Hi" they said in unison, holding pinkys. He was ashamed to admit to himself that his heart rate jumped and he began to sweat. Jesse was a sweater. A rather intense sweater. _And this was going to ruin his outfit dammit. Rachel liked this shirt. _

"Hi" he returned nervously, the look of potential devouring still on their faces "Whats up?"

"We like how you sing the duet with Rachel" Santana began "except for her part, it's perfect." Jesse felt offended for his girlfriend. She matched his epicness with a brand of it all her own.

"I don't think you realize that you just insulted my-" Jesse had to stop himself from saying _girlfriend_. Not only would these two spread it faster than that Puckerman kid with an STD, but Rachel would kick his ass if he revealed it to someone in glee. _Secret relationships are not as fun as they're made out to be_ "My best friend" he recovered quickly. "I would appreciate it if at the very least you respect her as co-captain of the club"

They just laughed at him and moved in closer, backing him up against the chair he had just vacated. His eyes flashed around looking for Rachel. _Where the hell was she?_

"Listen, Jesse, I'm going to have Brit here break it down for you." The Latina looked expectantly at her friend, who apparently was batting away a fly or invisible bird of some sort and had to be nudged to pay attention. "Oh... basically, we want to tap that." Brittany said, without an ounce of embarrassment. She glanced at Santana, apparently unsure if this was the correct thing to say. The Latina nodded.

They then got identical, expectant looks on their faces.

Jesse felt sweatier.

"Wow. Thanks but no thanks." he grimaced at them and side-stepped the two. But they weren't as easily shakable as he'd hoped, and they followed him out into the hall. _Where was Rachel!_ He thought frantically, eyes swiveling back and forth. The girls were still following him, going on and on about their perfect record in requests and if he turned them down he would be breaking their stride and the world would just _absolutely end_...

"Listen" he said, unable to shake them and fed up with their mumbling. "I appreciate the offer and everything, but I'm in a relationship right now. So no thank you."

"It wouldn't have to be anything serious, maybe we could just, I don't know, make out under the stairwell or someplace else subtly out of the way of the normal route Finn takes to class..."

He turned without responding and continued walking with purpose. He knew Rachel was going to be pissed about letting that slip, but he had taken care to be as ambiguous as possible. The hallway thing... _Oh shit._ He thought anxiously _They know._ Considering how Brittany can't remember her own name and Santana has more than one boy on her radar at any given time, Jesse was confident that he was going to slip out of this with no problems. _Now to find Rachel and tell her she isn't allowed to leave me alone in there anymore..._

xxx

There were problems.

The next day as Jesse and Rachel entered the school (not even walking too closely, Rachel had insisted that they act as platonic as possible), it was like his first week at the school when he was interesting news to everyone as the new guy. Heads were turning, whispers were flying, and Jesse was smack in the middle of the most unwanted spotlight he'd ever faced in his life. Brittany and Santana, pissed about their perfect record being ruined by Jesse's "strange devotion to fidelity", had told everyone they knew (also known as the whole student body of William McKinley) that Jesse was fresh off the market. An uninvolved observer would have noticed that there was a definite increase in the number of winks and flirtatious activities toward the senior that hadn't been there the previous day. Jesse thought this was absurd, and Rachel found it infuriating.

She had taken the news that he had slipped up rather well, and had actually not been angry at him but more at the two Cheerios who she seemed to think had more knowledge of their relationship than they previously thought and she was convinced they were using this as just another way to bring misery to her. Jesse didn't say it to her face but he thought they really just were being skanky. Really, who else besides Santana and Brittany would actually go and proposition some guy they barely know strictly to keep a perfect hook up record? But Rachel was convinced otherwise and so she put a stop to all affectionate behavior on school property, including Jesse was upset to find, his car.

But her peace of mind was more important than his need to kiss her for five minutes before class, so he went with it uncomplaining. So when they walked in together and the whispers began, she looked back at him and rolled her eyes. She was used to that at least, and hopefully that is as bad as it would get. Then the flirting began.

He felt awful for her, and for himself. He was used to girls hitting on him, but this was out of control. And he was beginning to think that it wasn't just by chance. Most of the girls who came up to him had to think a moment between the initial hello and then his name. He was proved right in thinking that these ones were Brittany's friends when he saw most of them huddled in a circle around her later that day. He just hated what it was doing to Rachel.

He knew that she was insecure, and that all the shit Finn had put her through made her extra emotionally fragile, but not being able to reassure her at school was putting its toll on her. As the idiots paraded around him, he watched as she got steadily more flustered at first, and then by then glee period of that day she was legitimately angry.

Sitting in the back of the class next to her, he watched as Mr. Schuester got through an entire lecture without a single interruption from her, and seemed suspicious of it. He sidled his gaze to his left where Brittany and Santana both winked at him. Rolling his eyes, he made sure that Rach hadn't seen it. The last thing they needed a week before a competition was her losing her mind for no reason. And there absolutely was no reason she should be upset. Jesse had made it clear to her that his feelings were pretty solid (telling someone you loved them constituted as solid in his opinion), but he still understood how she felt. He would have probably hauled off and punched Finn in the face again if he had been caught by the senior looking at Rachel like she was a piece of meat.

So he sat there and listened diligently as Mr. Schuester rattled off his list and then let them chat for a few minutes while he went to go get the keys to the auditorium and the dressing room where their performance outfits were. This was going to be the first day of dress rehearsal, and New Directions were aflutter with excitement.

"You okay?" Jesse said in a low voice to Rachel. She hadn't said a word since she walked into the choir room, and the rest of the club were still giving her dirty looks. She nodded curtly, eyes on the cheerleaders across the room with Puck and Matt.

"I need to speak with Mr. Schuester. I'll be right back" she said, suddenly getting up and speeding after the director. Jesse sat there, confused about her abrupt disappearance and then decided to join in a conversation to avoid looking like he was lost. Kurt and Mercedes were holding court with Quinn and Tina, and Jesse walked over to them to hear them quickly cut off their conversation. He assumed that they had just been talking about him. Kurt's beet red face did little to quell his suspicions.

"So, Jesse, do tell about this relationship you're in" Quinn began, a challenging look in her eyes. Jesse had been right, they had been talking about his parting words to the Cheerios the other day. Crap.

"Yes, please inform us of the identity of this mystery person" Kurt said, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the senior who was still at a loss for words.

"I, uh, she's in California." he blurted out, heat rising from his collar to his face. "I met her at my old school in my old glee club."

"Oh really?" Mercedes asked dryly. Jesse nodded enthusiastically. "What's her name?"

"Her name? Why do you need to know her name? Isn't it enough to just believe me?" Jesse was switching tactics like he was bipolar. He was hoping that by going from agreeing to defensive in roughly ten seconds he could throw them off the scent and find Rachel. But that would make sense, and of course nothing that ever happens makes sense.

"Easy there cowboy" Kurt spluttered out, obviously falling for Jesse's plan. "We're all just curious to know more about the mystery girl who is keeping you away from all of us."

"I'm just curious to know if Rachel is aware of your little girlfriend." Finn came striding by with Puck, obviously pleased with the reaction his comment was evoking out of the original group. Jesse glowered at him. 

"Mine and Rachel's relationship is between me and her. I know you enjoy messing with peoples lives Hudson, but I strongly suggest you back off this before I keep my last promise to you." Jesse could tell by the look on Finn's face that the threat to get his jaw wired shut and hook him up with Artie's wheelchair supplier was still fresh in his mind.

"But what about Rachel, Jesse?" Santana breathed at him, joining the old head cheerleader with Brittany at her side. "Shouldn't your _best friend _be made aware of the other woman in your life? I mean, its a big secret that could slip out in the hallways and stairwells of McKinley without you even knowing it..."

He locked eyes with the Latina. Her smirk was firmly in place. Her eyes were daring him. _This has to come out _his mind was racing. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Santana consciously or Brittany unconsciously let it "slip" that he and Rachel were dating. He had been careless, should have respected Rachel's wishes to be completely secretive at school. _Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot _the words traipsed around his mind like vocal runs. The group was staring at him, waiting for a response. In the background, Puck and Finn were glowering at him. Brad the piano teacher rolled his eyes at the teenagers. Jesse was still sweating, unsure of what to do.

With perfect timing, Rachel Berry strode back into the room leading a very weary looking Mr. Schuester.

"-and also Mr. Schuester, I think that the costumes would look much better with rhinestones on them, I believe that a nice patter on the ties and the hair bands would give them a classier look" She finally noticed that the entire club was looking at her. She glanced at them, then at Jesse, and then again at them.

"Do you all really not like the idea of rhinestones?" she asked nervously. Jesse saw Kurt shaking his head at her to indicate he was fully behind the rhinestoning. Mercedes smacked his hand and he went back to his interrogation face. Then Finn's expression caught Jesse's eye and he saw red.

The sophomore was gazing at Rachel as if she were a beacon of light after a hurricane. Jesse watched him look her up and down as she was talking to the other members, her voice sounding like it was far away as Jesse's focus was completely on the other boy. Something in him snapped again, reminiscent of the day of the fight. He balled up his fists.

"We were just discussing Jesse's love life." Santana said, malice all over her face and drawing the senior's attention. Rachel knew she was loving this drama, whatever it was stemming from. "And if you knew about his girlfriend."

Rachel's eyes darted back to him, a mixed look on his features. She could almost hear him thinking and begging to just get it out in the open.

"I, well, that is his personal business and what he chooses to do on his own time outside of the club really does not concern us so why don't we go see the new costumes-"

Jesse made the executive decision. He knew she would be mad, but Finn's ogling of her had sent him past his snapping point. He didn't give a damn if it drove the younger boy to quit. They needed to be outed, and he was going to man up and do it.

Crossing the distance between them in a few long strides, he cupped her face, tilted his head down to meet hers, and captured her lips in a passionate, lingering kiss. Jesse's tongue danced around her lips, begging to tangle with hers, which she allowed a moment later. Her hands gripped his firm sides tightly as one of his flattened against the small of her back and hauled her small frame against his larger one. He felt rather than heard the slight moans coming from the back of her throat as his hand traced circles and their mouthes waged war on one another, demanding and gaining dominance and then losing it.

Pulling away moments before she felt like she was going to pass out, Rachel realized the several pairs of eyes on them from the rest of the club were still there. Instead of burrowing into his chest like she wanted to, Rachel took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Everyone looked like they had all been hit by a truck. Mr. Schuester and Brad included.

Silence echoed cavernously around the music room, as all of them waited for the other to speak. Rachel subconsciously reached down to entwine her fingers with Jesse's, and he shot her a soft smile of encouragement as he felt her hand slip into his.

A wolf whistle came from Puck, while Matt and Mike high fived each other and burst out laughing. They seemed to be the catalyst for the rest of them, who all broke out in shouts of laughter and "I _knew_ it!" Jesse looked baffled and a quick glance down at Rachel showed him that she felt the same. He saw at least ten dollars being passed to Puck from Artie, and a crisp twenty from Kurt to Mercedes, neither of whom had stopped exclaiming how they had been "calling it from Hello."

"Wait a second!" Rachel shrieked, bringing the room to another standstill with a noise that only bats would be able to hear if she went one decibel higher. "You were betting on us?"

"Damn straight Berry" Puck called from the back row "You're talking to a sex shark. I could smell the relationship in the waters from weeks ago." The room broke into interaction again and Mr. Schue shooed everyone to the auditorium for dress rehearsal. Jesse was thrilled to see Finn sulking by, refusing to look at them. He then glanced down at Rachel, waiting for the explosion. Strangely, she was the one who looked oddly at peace.

"You're not upset." It was more statement than question, and Rachel shook her head no.

"I'd rather us have come out with it than Santana spreading some filth making it seem much worse." She nudged his side with her hip as they started after the rest of the club "Even though you can apparently give her a run for her money in the inappropriate public displays of affection department."

Jesse blushed. "I just wanted to make sure they had no doubt it was legitimate."

"I don't think they can ever doubt that" she said with a laugh "They're going to have to hose you down. That was incredibly hot. We should ensure that we reexamine that particular set of skills sooner rather than later." She accented her words with a flick of her eyebrows and a suggestive smile that had the tinyist hint of a lower lip bite in it as she skipped ahead of him, twirling a bit in her sinfully short skirt.

Jesse absolutely adored his lack of self control in goading Finn.

xxx

The night before regionals, the entire team spent the evening together at Mr. Schuester's place, eating pizza and laughing about various things in rehearsals. Finn was there, but had yet to speak or smile, instead adopting the stony faced sullenness he wore after the incident in the choir room.

Brittany and Santana eyed the newly exposed couple, who were sitting together on the floor with Rachel wrapped in Jesse's tight embrace and in a lively conversation with Artie and Tina. There were no more secrets, nothing to hide behind a mask of platonic friendship, no more lies to spread. Jesse and Rachel were finally openly together, and the repercussions Rachel had feared were next to nil apart from Finn's little anti-outburst.

After they had left, they went back and sat on her porch like they had the first night they got together. It had become kind of their post-date routine, sitting together entwined on the steps and enjoying the stillness around them. Breaking into the revere, Jesse laughed slightly and Rachel twisted around to see what was causing it so unexpectedly.

"Whats so funny?"

"Nothing" he replied, running a hand gently over her cheek "I just never thought that on a night before a big competition I would be thinking about a girl as opposed to the performance." He winked at her and pulled her closer.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Rachel asked suddenly, shifting around in Jesse's embrace to look at him.

"As long as it's not 'I'm getting back with Finn and we're running away to get married', then yes." She smacked his chest lightly as he laughed and she settled back into his arms. She sat there for a moment more, and Jesse slightly panicked, thinking _wait a second, is she actually thinking something like that? Oh shit-_

"I'm actually somewhat nervous about tomorrow."

Jesse exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. That was infinitely better than any of the hundred or so break ups he was horrifyingly imagining her saying. "Why?" he questioned "You're going to make people cry with those pipes. You do Taylor Swift better than Taylor Swift does."

Rachel smiled from her position tucked under his chin. "I'm still kind of scared. The only reason I didn't feel this freaked out before sectionals is because I had no time to panic before going on. Everything we thought we were going to do got nixed and I had to belt Barbara on the fly. I didn't have time to contemplate and properly exercise my anxiety out."

"You're going to be flawless. This is just another chance for you to show everyone up. Except for me of course. _That_ would be impossible." Jesse squeezed her and she giggled, a noise almost as perfect as the high notes she effortlessly hit every time she sang. "In all seriousness," he said, a solemn note in his voice "You doing anything less than perfect is not even a likelihood Rachel. Its an inevitability that you're going to outshine every single performer who dares step onto your stage. This is just the first time you get to reaffirm that."

Rachel took a shuddering breath and pulled away from Jesse to bestow the kind of smile that knocked the wind out of him, the kind that was exactly like the face she wore onstage when she was finally comfortable, doing the thing she was born to do. He traced his fingers along her face, down her neck, until they reached the small of her back where he entwined his hands and locked her in his embrace. "I hope you know that I'm honest with you. I believe in you Rach. The only thing I can't believe is that this is actually happening" he murmured into her hair, laying a kiss after his words "After wanting it for so long. You're like a dream, I swear to God I love you Rachel." She almost teared up at the emotion in his voice. His parents practically disowning him, the cross country move, all the drama with Finn, he had been through enough for two people. And yet still he opened himself up to her, and wanted her to be the one he finally let in.

"This is the realest thing in the world right now" she replied, her voice muffled by his chest, which her cheek rested on, her arms clinging to him as if her life depended on it. "You're amazing. How can you not think that I could want anything besides this? We're going to be magic tomorrow."

Despite her overconfident exterior, Rachel knew that she as well had trouble believing after their relationship of extreme hostility, awkward acknowledgment, extreme friendtamcy, and then almost never seeing him again that he was here for her. Rachel Berry finally got what she wanted, with no strings attached or reluctance.

As he noted the time and the fact that they had to be up early tomorrow for the bus ride, they stood as he put off walking to his Range Rover by swinging her around in his arms and singing Sinatra's "The Way You Look Tonight" as she half laughed, half demanded to be put back onto solid ground. He placed her gently onto the earth and took her hands in his. "I'll meet you at the bus tomorrow right?"

"Yes, my dads have decided a new Berry tradition is in order on competition days so they always drive me."

"Alright then." Grabbing her around the waist, Jesse smiled against her lips and proceeded to kiss her like he had in the choir room earlier that week. She responded as enthusiastically as she had then, and after a minute broke apart, panting with the intense lack of oxygen. She leaned her forehead against his, and shook her head.

"You always have to try and leave me breathless don't you?"

"Just making sure you have something to remember me by babe." He retorted, placing another chaste kiss against her lips before giving her a tight squeeze. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." He promised, reluctantly letting go of her and walking the few steps to his car door.

"You better punk. Can't pull off that intro all by myself." she called down to him

"Yes you can, but I'll be there to accent your performance. It'll make you sound better." She laughed at his retort and waved from her porch. He started his car and took off. She moved to go up the few steps when she heard tires squealing and an engine racing back to her house. By the time she'd looked around, he was already out of the car and almost to her.

"You okay?"

"I forgot to tell you I loved you. So, I love you." He pecked her on the lips, grinned, and bounded back across the lawn.

She smiled brightly at his quick wink and wave from his drivers side window, and turned into her house.

_God, _she thought_ she loved him too._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**A/N: So here we are at regionals. I hope you guys like this, it is a tad bit shorter than the last few, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I also wanted to say a big thank you to everyone reading this right now. I really did not think that anyone would give a damn about it, but your kind reviews and feedback have shown me that I'm not the only one who wished St. Berry had gotten a fair shake. Thank you all for supporting this, and please enjoy the premiere of Season 2 on tuesday! **

**Disclaimer: Songs/lyrics used in this chapter are property of their respective owners, I am still just a broke college kid who owns nothing but a fanatic love of this show.**

xxx

The morning of regionals began like every other for the senior. After going for his run, he showered, dressed in casual shorts and a tee shirt (something easy to change out of and back into after he put on his performance outfit), and hopped in his car.

He had the two songs they were performing on repeat and was warming up his voice to them. As he drove by Rachel's street he had to pay extra attention to the road as his instincts to turn down it and get her kicked in. He grinned slightly at that, and kept going towards the school. She had probably been there for a half hour already, most likely talking Mr. Schuester's ear off in her anticipation.

As he pulled into the lot, his prediction was correct, she was indeed there and engaged in a deep conversation with the young teacher and both her dads. Walking up to her, he heard her going on and on about how the choice of The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" was an homage to fighting the negativity that was running rampant in the nation. He crept up behind her, placed a finger over his lips to silence the three men from giving away his presence, and with a wild grin he grabbed onto her sides and burst into laughter with the men as she shrieked and flailed around in his grasp. Turning around, wild eyed and hair almost on end, she began slapping at him with all her strength.

"What-is-wrong-with-you!" she exclaimed, accentuating each word with a slap to his chest. He only laughed harder and stilled her hands by pulling her into his arms.

"Good morning Mr. Berry, Mr. Berry, Mr. Schue," he said over the still attacking diva's head "How are you all?"

"Well we were just enjoying a nice long conversation broaching the scandalous undertones of the choices that Vocal Adrenaline could be using today" Mr. Hiram Berry said, speaking in exactly the eloquent, professional tone that Rachel often used but that Jesse suspected was being used in a slightly sarcastic seriousness. Not even Jesse gave a damn about the undertones of the competition's set list.

"_Way_ into detail" Mr. Schuester added, looking tired already. The senior got the same vibe from him as he did from Hiram.

"Until you showed up and interrupted the riveting conversation" Mr. Leroy Berry said, his eyebrow raised in the mock threat he usually adopted in Jesse's presence.

"Are you going to be okay Mr. Berry, do you need me to turn on Fox News for you so you can get your fix about things that are blown incredibly and irrationally out of proportion?" Jesse raised his own eyebrow back at the man and they both burst out laughing, unable to pretend that they didn't enjoy each others banter.

"Did you all just miss my assault?" Rachel demanded, still fighting against Jesse's embrace, although it was weakening significantly. "You three just observed your prized child or student be almost kidnapped by some strange Californian with suspiciously curly hair!" The Misters Berry and Mr. Schuester all just laughed at her dramatics. Jesse was somewhat offended on his hair's behalf. It wasn't its fault moisture made it frizz after all.

"Hey that's not very nice," Jesse pulled back to get a clear look at her face and pouted at her "you know it gets frizzy and subsequently curlier in the damp. No need to discriminate against uncontrollably morning hair curliness."

"I hope it stays frizzy all day and makes you look like a wire-haired terrier." Jesse's mouth dropped open in shock and Rachel took the opportunity to scoot free of his embrace and scampered back to her dads before he could retort.

"Rachel, that was low" Leroy said, clicking his tongue in disapproval "I was thinking more in the Portuguese Water breed."

"I had no idea your fathers considered me a dog, Rachel" Jesse said dryly as it was his turn to be the butt of the joke to the three men and his girlfriend who were all now roaring with laughter. "Maybe next time I'll check myself in the mirror before entering your house, just to ensure my fur isn't mussed."

"Aw poor baby" Rachel cooed, retracing her steps back to him and babytalking him "Wittle Jesse dowsen't like to be cawled a tewwier" The look of offense got more poignant as she approached. He appealed to their teacher.

"Mr. Schuester, this is emotionally damaging. I won't be able to perform to my peak level if the abuse you're standing by and allowing continues."

The young teacher shook his head. "I'm not getting into this one Jesse, you're on your own with the Berry clan" Jesse opened his mouth to argue, but Mr. Schuester took advantage of the break in conversation and pointed out that more of the kids had begun to arrive, and were looking like they needed an extra dose of excited teacher to wake them up. Turning and catching sight of Brittany stumbling out of Santana's car in a pair of pajama pants and a cami, Jesse agreed, and Mr. Schuester took off rapidly towards the sleepy group.

His semi-wounded pride refused to allow him to look at Rachel who was currently pressed close to his back with her arms wrapped around him and her hands interlocked across his stomach. "Come on" she crooned, tightening her grip and settling her head on his shoulder "I was just joking. And so was dad, weren't you?"

"I was. His hair is magnificent, frizzed or not frizzed."

Jesse couldn't help the smile that took over at their banter. "Well since you guys kind of have to like me, I wont respond to the misleading compliment. Just know that I had a response, and it was adequately snarky."

"Of course you did" Hiram laughed along with Leroy.

Rachel placed a quick kiss on his cheek from her spot behind him. "I'm going to see how close we are to going. "

As if on cue, her dads decided to go as well. "Good luck baby" Leroy said, bestowing a kiss on the top of her head.

"We'll be watching both of you" Hiram added, hugging her and shaking Jesse's hand.

"We'll look for you as well" Rachel promised excitedly, the anticipation growing again as the two men left.

"Oh Jesse!" Leroy came jogging back as Rachel and Jesse halted, hand in hand.

"Whats up?"

"Make sure you use some of Rachel's mousse. There's a bit of an unbecoming cowlick in the back of your hair. Must be the fog." the older man grinned impishly at the senior and made his way back to his doubled over husband. To her credit, Rachel had maintained a relatively straight face throughout that exchange, and had taken Jesse's hand silently.

"I had a really good comeback" he griped as they got to the group. "I did."

"I know babe. I know."

xxx

As they arrived at the theater, any excitement the McKinley kids had been hiding (unlikely given the amount of noise that had been bellowing out of the bus windows) burst out in a thunderous arrival.

The girls had taken off at high speeds for the womens restroom in their dressing area, all shrieking about hair and makeup and shoes. The guys were even rather rowdy as they got themselves ready. Jesse spent an inordinate amount of time in front of the mirror, prompting Puck to whisper "freakin miva" under his breath when Jesse banished him from the sink and mirror he was using to get his tie perfectly positioned. It _had _to be perfect. Winners are always perfect.

He had to hand it to the ones who had picked out the outfits. Rachel had told him all about how at sectionals they had been gone with a black and red-accent set of colors. This time, "For continuity!" she'd expressed happily as she measured him for his fitting, they were doing the opposite effect. The boys had slacks and shoes and ties that were black, with a deep red dress shirt while the girls had the same color red Fifties-style dresses with a black sash and shoes. They all looked rather good, if Jesse said so himself.

Santana and Brittany were bounding around, texting violently, and being semi-obnoxious as they put the finishing touches on their makeup. Mercedes was standing with Artie and Tina and laughing as Matt struggled with his tie, insisting that he didn't need any help with it but looking like he really did.

Kurt had sealed himself in the ladies room, exclaiming something about his hair volume. Puck was surprisingly sitting quietly with Quinn, who was holding her bulging belly tentatively. Finn was sullenly on the couch next to Mike. Jesse roamed around, looking for Rachel but was apparently still fussing over her hair with Kurt according to the Cheerio's who were running around still.

Frustrated with the lack of his girl in the vicinity, he plopped down on the couch next to Finn. The younger boy gave him a wary look, looking like he half expected Jesse to clock him.

"You need something?" Finn asked suspiciously. Mike sat silently, obviously uncomfortable and staring hard at the ceiling in an attempt to be invisible.

"Come on Finn. You should know the answer to that by now. _All you need is love_" Mike lost his bid at being impassive and burst out laughing at Jesse's reference to their group number. Finn shook his head disgustedly and got up from the couch. Jesse watched him go and felt a pang of regret at the way that everything turned out between the two. It certainly was not regret beating the hell out of him for talking so disrespectfully about Rachel, nor did he feel bad about staking his claim on Rachel in front of him. He needed to know that right now (and hopefully for a good long while), she wanted Jesse, and Jesse had no intention of giving Finn any room to pine in front of them. But still, Finn had been a nice guy to Jesse when he first arrived, and for Rachel's sake he didn't want any more drama. If there was a better time to bury the hatchet, it wasn't presenting itself to the senior, and so he decided to be the bigger man.

Getting up and chasing after the sophomore, he found him outside the room, fists angrily clenched.

"Finn," he began uncertainly

"What Jesse? What do you want? You got the leads, you got the girl, what else do I have that you can take?"

"Stop being such a drama queen" Jesse retorted "I didn't take anything you hadn't essentially coughed up already."

"I didn't cough her up, you stole her away!"

He'd had enough. Standing up to his full height just an inch or two shorter than the sophomore (_but stronger_ he reminded himself), he looked Finn straight in the eye. "You broke her heart Finn. You humiliated her. She wouldn't even talk to me when I first came here because she literally couldn't get over what you did to her. I thought you were a good guy, and so when she finally told me what you did to her, I hated you with a vengeance I didn't know I possessed. We began dating after I got back from California, which for the record was six full weeks after you dumped her. It isn't like I scooped her up the minute you dropped her. So I want you to show me the same respect I would give you, and stop acting like such an infant about this. Rachel is happy, and just because it isn't with you doesn't mean you have to kill the emotion. Just let it be."

Jesse stepped back, but kept his eyes on the younger boy. It had been awhile since he felt the need to lecture someone, and he was reminded of how good at it he was, if he did say so himself.

Finn kept his eyes trained on Jesse's for a long moment, and then dropped them in resignation. "You're right dude. I've been way out of line. It kills me that I gave her up, and that I didn't have the balls to go after her like you did. I'll stay away from you guys, just try to not eat her face when I'm around. That might be a bit much."

Jesse agreed, and stuck out his hand. Hesitating and then grabbing it, Finn and Jesse came to a sort of truce, and trudged back into the dressing room not as friends or enemies, but as more allies than they had been before.

Jesse walked in to find Rachel sitting where he had just been on the couch, sitting next to and deeply conversing with Kurt about their hair still. Noticing who he had walked in with, Rachel gave him a side-eyed questioning look. Bending down and planting a kiss on her temple, he whispered "Tell you later" into her ear and took a seat behind her, tugging her to make her lean into his chest as she and Kurt continued on with their discussion on volume controlling products. Jesse chuckled to himself and leaned into the cushions, listening intently as their first competition took the stage above them.

xxx

After they sat through Aural Intensity and Vocal Adrenaline, they hurriedly made their way to the backstage area, avoiding the sweaty and exuberant members of VA who all whispered malicious things to them. None of them had an effect on the rejuvenated ingenue, who was demanding in a whisper (more of a shout, but by her standards it was quiet) that they all needed to be in position in the wings.

Mr. Schuester appeared with Finn, who gave Jesse a curt nod which the senior returned.

"So, as these are the last moments before we showcase exactly what it is that we have created" Mr. Schuester began, Rachel feeling as epic as Barbara in "_The Way We Were_"

"We've practiced and perfected it. We didn't win at sectionals because we were up against juvenile delinquents or deaf kids, we won because we had something they didn't. And it isn't something that can be attributed to one single person. It is the combined power that you guys give off when you're performing, its honestly like nothing I've ever seen. And today, you are going to go out there and prove to that audience and those judges what we already know. So lets go show 'em. From the top!"

The rest of the club disappeared into the wings for the second number, leaving Rachel and Jesse suddenly alone. From the other side of the curtain, she could hear the five minute warning, telling the audience to get back to their seats for their set. Turning back to Jesse, she took in how for the first time, he actually seemed jittery.

"You ready?" she asked, absently straightening his tie and patting his chest after she was done.

"I was born ready." came the cocky retort. She rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him, allowing his smell to wash over her. His arms found their way easily around her small waist and fitted perfectly in the familiar small of her back. They stood quiet for a moment, allowing the anticipation to sink in. There was no place Rachel would have rather been at that moment, and even though for the first time she couldn't describe it with words, she knew Jesse felt it as well.

As the lights dipped signaling the two minute mark, they pulled apart and Rachel quickly leaned up on her tiptoes to quickly kiss him and then get the slight smudge of her lipstick off of his lips.

"See you out there" he grinned at her and began to walk to the stage entrance. A sudden thought struck her, and she jogged quickly back.

He turned at the sound of her heels returning. "What's up-" she silenced him with a kiss, and then quickly pulled away. "Rachel...?" he said questioningly

"I forgot to tell you I loved you. So, I love you"

Using his signature wink, she bounced away with a flourish to get in position, the look on his face when she said it imprinted on her mind, and unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.

xxx

The opening strums of the guitar played out and Jesse stepped out onto the stage, hands in his pockets. The Broadway-esqe performance acting flowing from the senior as a single, hot spotlight on fell on him as he began to sing

_I remember what you wore on the first day_

_You came into my life and I thought hey, you know_

_this could be something_

_Cause everything you do and words you say_

_you know that it all takes my breath away_

_and now I'm left with nothing_

Jesse's eyes flitted over to Rachel, entering through a door in the back of the theater, symbolizing the entrance of the girl into the life that inspired the song. Jesse actually did remember what she was wearing the first day they met, actually remembered remembering her as he walked through McKinley on his first day. He had to fight his facial muscles to not grin as she began to sing with him on the next lines, their voices every bit as magical as they had been that very first time they sang together.

_So maybe it's true_

_That I can't live without you_

_And maybe two is better than one_

_But there's so much time _

_to figure out the rest of my life_

_And you've already got me coming undone_

_And I'm thinking two is better than one_

Rachel had made her way through the aisle, and was now at the stage. She climbed the few steps to join Jesse in the spotlight and they continued to move in orbit of each other, the theatricality of the whole scene simply oozing out of the two Broadway nerds. Jesse was content to forgo the next verse, just so he could hear her solo on a stage, for undoubtedly one of the first of many times to come.

_I remember every look upon your face_

Jesse took over again for the next line

_The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste_

_you make it hard for breathing_

They joined together vocally, and briefly touched outstretched hands as their eyelids mimicked the words of the shared verse

_Cause when I close my eyes and drift away_

_I think of you and everything's okay_

_I'm finally now believing_

She released his hand and stepped back, his feet quickly following hers to play the parts of the story, the young man desperate to keep ahold of the young girl who captured him, their voices still strongly resounding together in the room

_That maybe its true_

_I can't live without you_

_And maybe two is better than one_

_But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life_

_And you've already got me coming undone_

_And I'm thinking two is better than one_

Rachel's voice rang out strongly on the last word, the instrumental behind her being blown away with the subtle power she was employing for that note. As she did in her sectionals performance, she was hitting the peak of her range, but with a more gentle ring to it than the energy of Barbara.

To contrast her last part, Jesse picked up the next set of lines, finally catching up with Rachel, and grabbing her hands softly in his and almost whispering them to her over the single acoustic guitar

_I remember what you wore on the first day_

_You came into my life and I thought_

_hey_

They joined together for the final set, the entire band now playing, the lights of the house up and shining on the two young stars and making them look as epic as they were feeling. At that moment Rachel knew that despite the full house of people that she was supposed to be singing to, she was really addressing the boy whose movements matched hers on the stage, and who was now holding onto her like one would expect from an overly romantic movie. But this was actually happening, Jesse was really clutching onto her as if his life depended on it, and she could just tell that this was no act for him. The other teams would have to light themselves on fire to get this level of pure emotion out, there was no way even Rachel herself would be able to top this is she wasn't standing with the senior.

_Maybe it's true_

_That I can't live without you_

_And maybe two is better than one_

_And I'm thinking ohhh,_

_I can't live without you_

_Cause baby two is better than one_

_There's so much time_

_To figure our the rest of my life_

_But I figured out with all that's said and done_

_Two is better than one_

_Two is better than one_

The song ended, and the entire hall was silent. Rachel shot Jesse the slightest confused look under her brief break in a showface, and then there was a boom of thunderous applause as the entire audience stood up simultaneously with exuberance. Jesse's face mirrored Rachel's as they broke into genuine smiles, Mr. Schuester jumping up and down like a maniac in the wings over Rachel's head.

Jesse lowered his eyes back down to his ingenue, and she looked like she had those gold stars she was so fond of reflecting in her eyes with her euphoria at how well that went. Letting go of her hand, the two of them moved back into position for the second number, Jesse waiting on the darkened stage with Rachel and the rest of the group in the wings.

Behind them, he could hear the Finn and Mercedes walk onstage begin the _love, love, love_ intro. With each repeat of the lines, one more pair filed in, Matt with Santana, Mike with Brittany, Puck with Quinn, with Tina with Artie following. He and Rachel stood waiting for the instrumental overture (_a la the beginning of_ _HAIR _Jesse thought with a thrill of one day playing Claude) to finish before they started singing

_There's nothing you can do that can't be done _

_Nothing you can sing that can't be sung_

_Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game_

_It's easy_

At that point, they relinquished the lead to Finn and Mercedes, and they took their recently vacated spots and began the chant with the rest of the club

_There's nothing you can make that can't be made_

_No one you can save that can't be saved_

_Nothing you can do, but learn how to be you in time_

_It's easy_

At the chorus, the music swelled and the entire group began to sing and started their choreography, so much like the "Somebody to Love" steps they had used for their invitational, but with more emphasis put on the couples as opposed to individuals

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love, love_

_Love is all you need_

Puck and Quinn took over the next verse, with the rest of the group continuing the _love love love_ chant behind them

_There's nothing you can know that can't be known_

_Nothing you can see that can't be shown_

_Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be_

_Its easy_

The music picked up again, and the number matched its pace. The twirling dresses, hair, and ties were almost a blur to the crowd as New Directions executed the final number flawlessly, their vocals soaring throughout the room

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love, love_

_Love is all you need_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love, love_

_Love is all you need_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love_

_All you need is love, love_

_Love is all you need_

_All you need is love, love_

_Love is all you need_

As they finished, the crowd didn't even wait for the music to die down before blowing out their eardrums with applause and screams of approval. New Directions rushed offstage and shrieked in their joy, all jumping over each other and shaking in excitement. Now all that was left was to sit and wait.

xxx

Rachel's heart started beating at the noise above and around her. The other teams were next to them onstage, the crowd was as anxious as she was, and the rest of the group were either looking like they were about to be shot (Kurt) or had a showface on so tight they looked like they had gotten botoxed.

Jesse saw her wide eyed look and nudged her slightly. Looking up at him, he faked a deep breath and exhaled, nonverbally telling her to relax. She responded by grabbing his hand and smiling, and her attention snapped back to the task at hand as the judges emerged from stage right and held up the envelopes as the crowd went berserk. She unconsciously squeezed their entwined fingers while Coach Sylvester began a rant-like speech about show choir, and he squeezed them back.

With that quick, simple movement, he had reminded her of what he had said before they went on. The small supportive actions, the gestures oft missed and looked over by others around them were exactly why Rachel knew she hadn't been mistaken in telling him she loved him. His little squeeze of her delicate hands was not just to get her to relax. It was to remind her that win or lose, they had already won. They made it here, and they did an outstanding job. And they had done it together.

"In second place," Coach Sylvester boomed into the mic, Rachel's heart rate increasing rapidly again "From Fort Wayne Indiana, the not at all stupidly named Aural Intensity"

She momentarily relaxed, her hand still vice-like against Jesse's though. _This is it! _While Aural Intensity were scurried offstage by regionals officials, the tension built again.

"And now, your 2010 midwest show choir regional champions..." Rachel looked over at Vocal Adrenaline, in their perfectly pressed flamingo pink shirts and their automaton good looks. She was prouder at that moment to be a part of a team that relied on each member to have a spirit, not just to be able to go through the motions. Win or lose, like Jesse had proved, she had already won. So when Coach Sylvester drew breath for the next two words, whichever they be for, Rachel exhaled, finally at peace with whatever the insane woman said.

"New Directions!"

Those two words were the last Rachel heard. Her teammates simultaneously exploded in sound around her, and she was quickly enveloped in a massive group hug which broke up as quickly as it had formed at the sight of Josh Groban walking towards them with the trophy. As the rest of them all rallied around Mr. Schuester who was clutching it with a smile that threatened to split his face wide open in joy.

She glanced wildly around for Jesse, who had snuck around the group to grab her tightly to him and shrieked as got ahold of her. Throwing her arms around his neck, he swung her around in jubilation. With the thunderous applause, the crying teammates clutching their trophy they had wanted for so long, the boy she loved holding onto her tightly, Rachel couldn't see her life getting any better than that moment.

Putting her back down, he didn't relinquish his hold on her sides and instead leaned down to whisper in her ear softly "I told you, it's an inevitability."

Rachel had been wrong. That perfect moment had just gotten topped.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**A/N: This chapter sucks. I hate it. But I had to set some things up for later chapters, so hence the reason it is so short. On the upside, chapter 13 is going to be great. Like, I'm super stoked for that one. So please still leave me your thoughts, you have no idea how much they mean to me. :)**

**P.S. and to the person who said they would like to see Quinn, she'll be in the next chapter. Sorry, I couldn't figure out a way to organically get her into this one.**

xxx

Jesse still felt the exhilaration from all of the events at regionals two weeks later. The first place trophy sat triumphantly in the choir room, and looking at it, Jesse had a sense of real pride coursing through his veins. Vocal Adrenaline, the highly touted and aggressive rivals had failed with a mashup of Kei$ha and Queen, creating a warbling and highly offensive display that he was glad none of them had been witness to except for Mr. Schuester. And he seemed to be recovering in light of their win, so all was well.

They also recently discovered that Principle Figgens had extended the clubs residency in McKinley for another year, regardless of what happened at nationals later that month. This news had visibly relaxed everyone when Mr. Schue announced it the day after the competition. The pressure was still on, but it was a less intense one. This kind was manageable.

And so with a new lease on the club, a brand new trophy to show them they were actually good enough, New Directions set forth with a blistering rehearsal schedule for nationals. They had been set to occur in New Orleans, but hurricane threats and the like had shifted the event to sweet home California. More specifically to Los Angeles, on Hollywood Boulevard, at the Pantages theater.

In other words, Jesse's old haunts. And he was ecstatic.

He had already called Anthony and been informed in a slightly awkward moment that his old school hadn't made it to nationals, but they would all be there to see and support him and his new group. So with a new fervor, Jesse and the group threw themselves into the nationals routine with a conviction Mr. Schue dubbed religious in nature. But as with anything, the routine was not the only thing the senior was obsessing over.

After having solely focused on getting the routine down pat and getting his relationship with Rachel off the ground, he had almost been neglecting the unpleasant thoughts of post high school life as much as he possibly could. And despite clinging to them when he first arrived in Ohio as his safety net to escape from the cow town hell, he now almost dreaded them.

He also sort of dreaded Rachel's reaction. She knew he had been accepted to UCLA, pending his commitment and graduation from McKinley. However, she did _not _know that his parents had already cut the check for first semester's tuition. Or that he had been getting his packets about dorm information. Or that the brand new set of luggage that was sitting in his room was not just a gift from his uncle for the regionals win, but another reminder from his father that he was going to be gone in a matter of a few months at this point. Basically, Rachel didn't know that her boyfriend was going to be leaving her for the other side of the country in a short amount of time. And Jesse had no idea how to tell her. She had just told him at regionals that she loved him.

She _loved_ him.

Sure, he had hoped she would say it back, but he was still slightly stunned when it actually left her mouth. And the fact that she timed it immediately before he had to walk onstage and do what he did best made it all the more sweeter in Jesse's opinion. Very dramatic. _Very_ Rachel Berry-esqe.

So the thought of her flawless face at the news that the boy she now loved leaving her for his own selfish reasons was no better in his mind than what Finn did. As such, he kept putting them off and instead focused himself on being the perfect boyfriend while she still saw him in that light instead of the traitor to her heart she was bound to see him as after. The new locale of the nationals competition did not ease his nerves though, and it was with a pang of guilt that he realized he would be flying home after the event only to get his belongings and then fly back out for school. So until he was forced to face telling her, he was switching his focus completely to being the guy Rachel deserved.

Operation "Not-a-Douche" was easy for Jesse, it wasn't like Rachel was high maintenance (for a mortal man, perhaps, but Jesse St. James held himself to a higher standard than that) and she essentially just wanted someone who could supply the emotional steadiness she needed and which he felt he needed to give to her.

The students at McKinley had abused her. Not in the traditional physical abuse sense, but emotionally, in which she was the equivalent to being battered with the years of verbal assault for being exactly who she was and not conforming. Jesse saw where some could find her determination deterring, but that was one (of the many, _many_) things he had come to adore about her. So he did his absolute best to protect her from their wrath, for hating her for having ambition they couldn't even imagine. And for the most part they respected her now.

That rat bastard Jacob Ben Israel was still trying to get in her pants, but all it took was a well developed glare from the senior and Jewfro took off for his life.

It wasn't all that difficult to blame him though. Jesse often found himself absentmindedly staring at her in practice or when they were studying, and not just at her face. Nope. Jesse was all of a sudden overtook with thoughts of Rachel that her fathers would have promptly beaten out of him if they knew what floated through his mind at least several times a day.

It wasn't like Rachel wouldn't let him even get close to her (he had even heard about a certain outburst in a chastity club meeting decrying commonly spread by religious leaders opinions on sex), but he knew that she wasn't as, well, experienced as he was in certain aspects of relationships. He wasn't a man whore, but he had taken the next step with his previous girlfriend (before the bitch ran off and cheated on him with the lead of another rival show choir), and he knew about certain things that Rachel didn't. But in fear of pushing her too far just as he was trying to be perfect for her, he would not press the issue of sex. She was in complete control of the pace, and he would simply go along with it until he dropped dead or was dumped. So it was a slow, wonderfully awful hell Jesse was exposed to as he and Rachel spent more time acting like the hormonal teenagers that they were, and the frustration the senior felt kept making itself an issue he was determined to ignore.

Rachel wasn't stupid though, and it was after one unusually enthusiastic bout of making out on her bed while her fathers were at a work function that she voiced the problem she apparently had noticed as well.

"Jesse" she mumbled against his lips as she gasped for some desperately needed oxygen

"Hm?" he barely got out before reclaiming her mouth and rolling them over so her hair dangled in his face and tickled his nose while he supported her light weight.

"We need to talk" she said again, with much more conviction. Undeterred, he moved his attention to her neck and found the spot she loved to have said attention paid to.

"Seriously, I need to talk to you" she said, searching and finding the conviction she wanted and pulled back from him. Well, the spot she _usually_ loved to have attention paid to.

"Okay," he groaned, regaining control of himself at her tone and propping himself up on his elbows to look at her sitting on him "what is so important that you want me to neglect that neck of yours?" He secretly was expecting to be admonished for his lack of self control in regards to certain anatomy... it wasn't really like it was missed by either of them, just silently acknowledged as the sign to slow it down. Or talk about Quinn's recent birth-giving event. That usually solved the problem.

"You've been acting differently lately" she started, seemingly searching for the phrase that fit better "like...like you've been trying to make up for something."

He kept his face in the position of slight confusion/intrigue at her words. He refused to have this conversation right now. He did not know when exactly he was going to tell her, but he knew it could not be before nationals. Any distraction was unwelcome, and she needed to have the upcoming days as drama free as possible.

So he bitched out and offered a lame, "Oh?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Jesse!" she said, getting irritated. She rolled off of him and sat on the edge of her bed, arms crossed, and a severe look on her face. He guiltily joined her on the edge, feeling like he was in boyfriend time out.

"What? I don't think I'm acting weird. I think I'm trying to make out with you while your dads aren't in the house"

"That isn't what I mean" she sighed, frustrated with how this was going. She didn't want to fight with him, she wanted to figure out why he was being especially doteful. And she had a sinking feeling why. "And I think I may have unintentionally made it more difficult for you."

_What? She was moving in a completely different direction-_

"You want to have sex. And I think we should"

If he had been drinking something, Jesse would have either spit it all over her face or choked to death in shock. The look on his face apparently was the equivalent to it, because she laughed slightly and grabbed his hand in her small one.

"It isn't like it's a secret. We both know that the Quinn baby thing isn't talked about because we both care that much about it."

He didn't know how to respond. He wanted to tell her no, he didn't think about that but he didn't want to lie to her either. The only thing that he was sure of was that he was pretty damn resentful of her putting him in this situation.

"I don't know how you want this conversation to go Rachel" he began, deciding to go with honesty "either answer I give you, I'm not going to be happy with myself."

"I think that you're over thinking it" she began earnestly, fiddling with his hand in hers "sex isn't something to be avoided, that is when you get a baby gate situation, all that pent up frustration-"

"I want to sleep with you Rachel. But I don't want to right now" he cut her off, not able to handle a scientific conversation about this.

"I don't feel pressured by you, if that is why you're saying that. I want to. For you."

He groaned, pulled his hand from hers, and put his face in them. Peeking out at her from in between his fingers, he saw her looking confused at his reactions. He stood up and began to pace.

"I'm not sure what inspired you to begin thinking this. Of course I want to take our relationship to the next level in that regard, but I don't want it to be rushed because you think I have some master plan to get into your pants."

"You don't have to lie Jesse, I am fully aware of the way many males your our age view sex, and I believe that since we have both verbally expressed out obvious commitment to one another that sex is the next logical step in our journey.

Jesse smiled sourly "There was absolutely no connection between me saying I love you and what you're coming up with. I'm not like that Rach, you should know that at this point."

"I do know that" she said hurriedly, getting off the bed and coming right into his line of sight and staring up at him with those doe eyes. "I also know that since we've been, for lack of a better phrase, spending an increased amount of time together, things should naturally progress. And I'm ready." At her last words she pressed into him a bit, slinking her arms around his waist and entwining her fingers behind his back. "I just want to make it epic. I think we should see what happens in California. Maybe we can grab some time to ourselves."

She stood on her tip toes to capture his mouth in a kiss before he could voice any distaste for the idea. No matter what he said, she seemed determined to get her way in doing what she thought he wanted her to do. He was in a position he simultaneously hated and felt guilty for.

"I really don't want to," he began, raising his voice to override her protest "But we'll see what happens at nationals then." He said this and her look of frustration turned to satisfaction. Nodding and wearing a slight smile, she let herself be pulled into a hug by the senior.

How he was going to convince her that he didn't want it to happen like this, he didn't know. If he told her the truth about UCLA, she would be furious. If he kept his mouth shut, his hormones and her insistence might get the best of him. Between a rock and a beautiful girl was where Jesse St. James found himself stuck, and he wasn't sure how he was going to get free without hurting her or himself in the process.

xxx

Despite their talk, Jesse couldn't help feeling like Rachel was rushing herself. She swore up and down that she was waiting for an epic memory, that being together in that way would bring them closer together, etc. In reality, she was saying all the things that she apparently thought Jesse believed. Which was sort of true, but for different reasons. Jesse wanted to be as close to her as possible while he still could. That fact was completely separate from the longing he got when she strutted around in the middle of a song, her sinfully short skirts twirling around legs that reached for miles, but he still considered that separate from the main goal of just _being_ with her.

Luckily, she seemed distracted by the quickly approaching nationals, and along with Mr. Schuester was working at a breakneck pace to get things in order. As far as Jesse knew, the nationals set list was much different from regionals. In the regionals regulations, teams were allowed to have a performance time of between six and nine minutes. At nationals, due to the larger number of teams (five as opposed to three), performance times were limited to four and six minutes and there was only enough time to do one number. Saying it needed to be epic would just be a given at this point, to stand out in a group of teams that had gone through what New Directions had gone through to get there.

So when Puck of all people walked into the choir room with the sheet music for "Viva la Vida", they knew that it was perfect, and immediately set to rehearsing. With the song chosen, Jesse felt like he was getting out of bed and then someone with the remote to his life was hitting fast forward on his days. They were melting away as if they weren't even happening.

One day Puck had been walking in with the sheet music, the next they were dividing the vocals, the next they were layering and adding harmonies, and quickly the senior found himself abandoning his morning run in leu of an extra hour of sleep to make up for the workout he got with their new choreography. It was a schedule even he was having trouble keeping pace with, and so when all of a sudden he was a night away from flying home to California again, he was happy simply that soon this would all be over and he could figure out how he could work out the whole college issue.

The big plus side to this was that this time, Rachel would be next to him, and the mental peace of mind the senior received from that was immeasureable. The night before they were slated to fly out, Jesse dropped Rachel off after practice and headed straight home after saying a quick hello to her fathers. Pulling in, he noticed with a bit of shock that his fathers Porsche was sitting in the drive next to his mothers car. _Looks like another family night with the St. James clan _he thought sarcastically as he made his way up the walk.

Opening the front door as quietly as he could and beginning across the foyer, he had almost made it to the stairs when he heard "Jesse! Get in here!" bellowing from the kitchen.

Groaning and looking longingly towards the direction of his room, he went towards the slurred voices awaiting him.

"You got a letter today" his father barked at him, skipping any greetings "A letter from Tistch." the seniors eyes trailed down the older mans arm to the glass of amber liquid clutched in his hand and resting on top of the large envelope bearing the schools crest.

"I told you that you are going to UCLA. I also told you explicitly that you were not to apply anywhere else."

His mother flitted around, cleaning up the empty bottles surrounding her husband. Apparently he'd been home for quite some time judging by the number of them. Jesse found himself staring at the envelope. It was roughly the size of the admission packets. His heartbeat quickened.

"I figured it would be best to exercise all my options." he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of the package. His father lifted his hand to take a sip of his drink. He had left a ring of the liquid on the paper of the envelope.

"You wasted your time with this then" his father said finally downing the drink and shoving the envelope towards his son. "You are going to go where I went, and you're going to send them your letter of acceptance tomorrow"

"I'll be on a plane tomorrow. I'm going to California with my show choir for nationals." His father waved a dismissive hand.

"Then you'll do it when you get back. This isn't a democracy Jesse. I am the dictator. You are the citizen with no rights unless I grant them to you."

"If you haven't noticed_ Dad_" Jesse said, laying on the sarcasm with his use of the D-word "most dictatorships fail and collapse in on themselves, due to excess," he nodded at the leftover empty bottles "or infighting" he nodded at his mother, who for years had been a slave to self medicating thanks to her husbands neglect in favor of work "or due to someone who has more of a reason to do something you don't want strictly to spite you" at this, he pointed a finger at himself and smirked at him.

He grabbed the packet and stalked out of the room. "See you in a few days!" he yelled over his shoulder and slammed his bedroom door shut.

He had the acceptance to two prestigious schools for acting. One was in his home state, filled with sunshine and beaches and familiarity. It also had the distinct advantage of being favored by the son of a bitch who would be footing the bills.

The other was an hour and a half plane ride from the girl he now couldn't imagine not seeing on a regular basis, let alone for weeks at a time if he went to California. If it was up to Jesse, it wouldn't even be a contest at this point.

He flopped down on his bed before he went to hop in the shower. He reached for his phone and pressed a button to make it come out of sleep mode. His wallpaper picture of he and Rachel sticking their tongues out at the camera lit up and in that brief moment, his heart ached a little bit more. Not only for the fact that he was probably going to be dumped when she found out he was leaving, but for the fact that she thought he was so cut up because he only wanted to sleep with her.

Sighing, he tapped out a short text to her and then went to shower. A few miles away, her phone buzzed with the new text. She opened it and a soft smile lit her features as she read it

_Can't wait to show you where your star will be on the Walk of Fame this weekend. Love you. JsJ_


End file.
